A dip below zero!; recap of Friday snow totals plus the chilly weekend forecast

We finally did it!

Shortly before 8 this Saturday morning, the temperature dipped below zero at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport:

This sets a new record (Jan. 19) for the latest first sub-zero reading of winter in the Twin Cities.

According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, January 18 is the previous date of our latest first sub-zero reading of winter in the Twin Cities:

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We came close to a sub-zero temp at MSP airport on New Year's Day this year, with a low of zero.

Snowstorm tally

As expected, the highest snowfall totals Friday and Friday evening were in far southern Minnesota.

Here's a list released this morning:

Public Information Statement

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

1058 AM CST Sat Jan 19 2019

...SNOWFALL REPORTS...

Location                     Amount

Mapleton                     12.5 in

Winnebago                    12.0 in

3 NNE Manchester             11.0 in

Albert Lea                   10.5 in

Sherburn                     10.0 in

Granada                      9.0 in

Blue Earth                   9.0 in

Sherburn                     8.5 in

New Richland                 8.5 in

Albert Lea                   8.5 in

Amboy                        8.0 in

Glenville                    8.0 in

Ellendale                    8.0 in

8 NE Myrtle                  7.0 in

St. James                    6.0 in

Fairmont                     6.0 in

Albert Lea                   6.0 in

Owatonna                     5.7 in

Mankato                      5.0 in

Redwood Falls                5.0 in

Nerstrand 4E                 4.9 in

Waseca                       4.8 in

Sveadahl 5NNW                4.7 in

New Ulm 3SE                  4.6 in

St. James                    4.5 in

Springfield 1NW              4.5 in

Albert Lea                   4.0 in

Waseca                       4.0 in

Mankato                      4.0 in

St. Peter 6WSW               4.0 in

Montevideo                   4.0 in

Dawson                       4.0 in

Milan 1NW                    3.8 in

St. Peter                    3.7 in

New Prague                   3.5 in

Montgomery 3ENE              3.5 in

Faribault                    3.5 in

Canby                        3.5 in

Clara City                   3.5 in

Le Center 5NNW               3.5 in

Bird Island 7SSE             3.4 in

Cannon Falls                 3.3 in

6 N Henderson                3.3 in

Winthrop                     3.2 in

Mankato                      3.0 in

Bird Island                  3.0 in

1 N Appleton                 2.6 in

Vasa 3ENE                    2.6 in

8 NE Myrtle                  2.5 in

1 ENE Northfield             2.5 in

Carver 1W                    2.4 in

Stockholm 2NE                2.3 in

Jordan 1SW                   2.2 in

Lakeville                    2.1 in

Vasa 5NNE                    2.1 in

Mankato                      2.0 in

Olivia                       2.0 in

1 SW St. Peter               2.0 in

Prior Lake 1WSW              2.0 in

Veseli 1W                    2.0 in

Red Wing                     2.0 in

Hutchinson 5N                1.8 in

Hutchinson                   1.7 in

Lakeville                    1.6 in

Apple Valley 3ESE            1.6 in

Lonsdale                     1.5 in

Prior Lake                   1.5 in

Glencoe 3NW                  1.5 in

Glencoe                      1.5 in

8 NE Myrtle                  1.3 in

Shakopee                     1.3 in

Victoria 1WSW                1.3 in

Burnsville                   1.1 in

Waconia                      1.1 in

Mankato                      1.0 in

Willmar 5N                   1.0 in

2 WSW Ellsworth              1.0 in

Hastings (L/D 2)             1.0 in

Chaska                       0.9 in

1 SW Chanhassen              0.5 in

Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying

equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers

for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.

I've also noticed the following totals: 15 inches about 8.5 miles north of Heron Lake (and to the west of Windom) in southwestern Minnesota. Rochester tallied 8.1 inches of snow on Friday.  You notice that snow amounts drop off as you move north: Mankato reported 5 inches of snow, and 3.5 inches accumulated in New Prague. In the south metro, Carver reported 2.4 inches, and Lakeville came in with 2.1 inches. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport measured only two-tenths of an inch, and it was their first measurable snowfall of this month.  Our season snowfall of 11.2 inches at MSP airport is 17.8 inches below normal to this point in our snow season.

This note from the NWS:

You can check snow accumulations for Minnesota and western Wisconsin as they are posted by the NWS. Hover over a location on the NWS snow map to see the snow total and the time of observation. If you are looking at the NWS map late Saturday or beyond, you may want to click the "last 48 hours" tab to capture snow reports since early Friday.

You can also see updated snow totals posted as public information statements and as local storm reports.

Cold weekend

Saturday afternoon highs are expected to range from the single digits below zero in far northern Minnesota to the lower teens in the far south.

Lows late Saturday night into early Sunday will be well below zero in northern Minnesota and parts of central Minnesota:

rt120l3

Wind chill temps in the -35 to -45 range are expected overnight and early Sunday in much of northeastern Minnesota, and International Falls could see their wind chill dip to -52:

rt119chilldlh
NWS Duluth

Sunday highs will be mainly in the single digits across Minnesota, with some teens from the Twin Cities into southeastern Minnesota:

rt120h5

Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to be around 20 Monday and Wednesday, with lower 20s on Tuesday. Teens look possible on Thursday, followed by single-digit high temps on Friday.

Our average high this time of year is 24 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.

Snow chances

West-central and southwestern Minnesota, plus areas along the North Shore of Lake Superior, will have the best chance of light snow showers Sunday and Sunday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern Sunday through Sunday evening:

rt119rad2
NOAA NAM simulated radar Sunday through Sunday evening, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.

Periods of snow are expected across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Monday and Tuesday:

rt119mpxsnow
NWS Twin Cities

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.