Wind, rain, snow: attention-getting system on the way

It's been eight years since snowflakes accumulated in the Twin Cities in October. Our snow-free October streak may end Friday.

A significant early season snow event is on the way for parts of western and northern Minnesota Thursday into Friday. The snow comes with a helping of high winds. Winter storm and high wind watches in the Red River Valley will likely be upgraded to warnings today.

Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada,

Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster,

Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden,

Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston,

Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Breckenridge, Cavalier, Walhalla,

Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Grafton, Park River,

Grand Forks, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland,

Fargo, Lisbon, Enderlin, Gwinner, Milnor, Forman, Rutland,

and Wahpeton

318 AM CDT Wed Oct 25 2017

...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH

FRIDAY AFTERNOON...

* WHAT...Blizzard conditions possible. Travel could be very

difficult to impossible. Damage to trees and power lines is

possible. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are

possible, with localized amounts up to 4 inches.

* WHERE...Portions of northwest Minnesota, west central

Minnesota, northeast North Dakota and southeast North Dakota.

* WHEN...From Thursday morning through Friday afternoon.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 60 mph could

cause whiteout conditions in blowing snow. Significant drifting

of the snow is also possible.

Wrapped up system

Wind will be a factor with this system. The tightly wound low-pressure system winds up Thursday onto Friday. Snow and wind increase across northern and western Minnesota Thursday.

The Twin Cities likely starts as rain late Thursday night, transitioning to snow Friday morning. The Canadian and European models still favor mostly rain for the Twin Cities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's suite of models favors a decent burst of snow in the Twin Cities Friday. Here's NOAA's Global Forecast System.

Enough to shovel?

Much of northern and west-central Minnesota may need the shovel. You remember what that looks like right? The Twin Cities is likely to escape with a snowy coating when all is said and done. Uncertainty level is still high at this point.

Winter wonderland up north

Ski Ely, Minn.? The most productive snow zone lays out around Ely and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Details via the Duluth National Weather Service:

Temperatures: Bottom drops out

Your backyard thermometer goes into hibernation in the next few days. The bottom drops out Friday, and chilly temperatures persist into next week. Did I mention it's November next week?

Scary cold Halloween

I remember being bundled up that year we decided to use pillow cases to collect our Halloween candy stash. We may get a '70s Halloween flashback this year. Highs may nudge into the low 40s next Tuesday. Trick or treat temps fall into the upper 30s this year.

Halloween climatology

Lats year the Twin Cities hit 58 degrees on Halloween. Here's a great look at Halloween climatology from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources State Climatology Office.

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Measurable precipitation has occurred on Halloween only 26% of the time in the Twin Cities, or 38 times out of 145 years. The most rain recorded was in 1979 with .78 inches. In 1991 .85 inches of precipitation fell, which was snow. In spite of the 1991 Halloween Blizzard, measurable snow on Halloween is about as rare as getting a full sized candy bar in your trick or treat bag. Since 1872 there's been enough snow to measure only six times: .6 in 1884, .2 in 1885, 1.4 in 1932, .4 in 1954, .5 in 1995 and of course 8.2 inches with the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. Thus there has been measurable snow on only 4% of the days.

So Cal record heat

Southern California smashed several heat records Wednesday.

The heat is on again today.

Play ball!