Update: Europe Auroras; 60 again Saturday? Severe outbreak in March?

5am Earth bound CME struck Earth according to spaceweather.com

No word on intensity of Earth impacts yet

Auroras (Northern Lights) in Europe, still possible tonight in Minnesota

Snowy AM dusting & windy today!

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Warm front late Friday

60 degrees possible again by Saturday?

Rain showers Sunday?

70 degrees possible late next week?

Severe outbreak possible in Minnesota around March 21st?

Solar storm in progress: Possible auroras tonight?

According to spaceweather.com the CME struck Earth around 5am Minnesota time.

There are reports of aruoras in Europe.

Timo Veijalainen Mar. 7, 2012 Sodankylä, Finland

Details:

"Last night auroras were displaying above arctic circle. There were lots of clouds during the night, but driving to east was answer to our problem. Near midnight auroras started to dance. It didnt last long, but luckily i got few images."

The next 12+ hours should tell the tale about any possible impacts. If northern lights explode, they might still favor Scandinavia and Russia which lie on the "nighttime" side of the earth.

If an aurora storm develops it may last long enough for us to see it in Minnesota tonight. The good news is skies should be mostly clear in most of Minnesota tonight. If the show goes off, we may just see it!

Blustery March Thursday!

Hang onto your hats and small pets today! A gusty west wind will peak this afternoon and tonight at speed between 20 and 40 mph in parts of Minnesota.

It will feel more like winter than spring today as temps hold in the 20s north and 30s south.

In case you're wondering, there's still plenty of snow cover up north. Check out the photo from weather observer Gordon Hommes taken last weekend after another 10" snow blitz near Two Harbors, MN.

"Hi Paul, Here are some photos from the lake-effect snowstorm that affected parts of the North Shore this weekend. These were taken Sunday morning at my house inland from Two Harbors. By that time we had received 10.5 inches of light, fluffy snow, and the snow depth was up to 31 inches.

Gordon Hommes

Two Harbors 7NW"

Yep, that's 31" of snow on the ground! This is great news for North Shore rivers like the Knife River which has been running low. The extra snow melt should get rivers running nicely along the North Shore in the next two weeks.

60 by Saturday?

The next surge of warm air is already aiming at Minnesota for this weekend. A warm southwest wind should boost temps again by Saturday. With less snow cover and plenty of sun, temps should again make a run at 60 in the metro and southern Minnesota Saturday!

Rainy Sunday?

There are signs that a low pressure system will spin up from the south by Sunday. This should trigger some rain...yes rain showers Sunday in Minnesota.

60s and even 70s next week?

The overall upper air pattern remains favorable for early season warmth next week. 50s and 60s should rule the early week, and southern Minnesota and even the metro may bask in 60s to even 70 degrees by next Thursday & Friday!

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First possible severe outbreak in sight?

One low pressure system may bring some showers to Minnesota next weekend for St. Patty's Day.

It's early to say for sure, but the GFS is hinting for several runs now that a stronger, May-like storm may wind up and aim for Minnesota around March 21st.

If a strong system like the one advertised in this morning's GFS run tracks through western Minnesota, there could be thunderstorms, and potentially some severe weather warnings on or around March 21st.

It's pretty remarkable and somewhat alarming to see our weather pattern jump from March to May in just a few days. But it seems anything goes in Minnesota weather lately.

"Expect the unprecedented."

Stay tuned!

PH