Cooler temps, but no snowstorms; Tornado anniversary

It was a wet snow that wasn't easy to shovel. Now we can relax a bit.

Our official Twin Cities season snowfall total is now 48 inches. That puts us 3.8 inches above our average season snowfall total through March 6.

It's not your imagination if it seems snowier than normal lately!

Snowstorm tally

The official snow total from our Monday into early Tuesday storm was 4.6 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Some spots in the west and south metro had quite a bit more than that: 8.5 inches in Victoria (Carver county), 8.6 inches in Prior Lake (Scott county) and 8 inches in Rosemount (Dakota county).

Rochester airport reported 6.6 inches and St Cloud had 6.5 inches. There were impressive snow totals in parts of central and northwestern Minnesota. Menahga, which is south of Park Rapids, had 14 inches!

The National Weather Service has an interactive, zoomable snowfall map that allows you to hover over a point to get details about the location and the time of the snow measurement.

I recommend that you hit the "last 48 hours" tab in the upper left corner of their snowfall page so that you include any snow reports that are more than 24 hours old.

Any more snow?

Parts of western Minnesota could have a few passing flurries on Wednesday, but we'll have a break from snow shoveling through the rest of this week.

Northern Minnesota could see a bit of snow on Saturday, with a mix of rain and snow Saturday night and Sunday in southern Minnesota.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern Saturday through Sunday evening:

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the precipitation rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain or snow.

Cool, then a weekend rebound

Minnesota highs will be mostly in the 20s Wednesday and Thursday.

The Twin Cities metro area should top out in the upper 20s Wednesday, but a few spots could touch 30.

3o is a good bet for our Thursday high in the metro area, and some spots could hit the mid 30s on Friday:

Metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 30s to around 40 this coming weekend.

Earliest Minnesota tornado

There were three tornadoes in Minnesota on March 6 of last year.

It was the earliest in the year that Minnesota had ever seen a tornado.

According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

   Unusual and out-of-season weather grabbed headlines once again, this time because of not one, not two, but three tornadoes in Minnesota on March 6, 2017. These tornadoes broke the record for earliest in the season, by an impressive 12 days. The old record had been March 18, 1968, near Truman, or about 20 miles southwest of Mankato.

The three tornadoes struck during the same hour, with two of them in far southern Minnesota and the other one northwest of the Twin Cities. The first tornado tracked 9.6 miles through Faribault county, from near Bricelyn, to a campground on Rice Lake, before it crossed I-90 and dissipated. Approximately 30 minutes later, another tornado affected areas just to the north and east along a 12.3-mile path through the towns of Clarks Grove and Geneva. At roughly the same time, a different tornado traveled 8.9 miles through Sherburne County, from northwest of Zimmerman to just south of Princeton.

The National Weather Service rated all three tornadoes at EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

A detailed National Weather Service report includes radar images from March 6, 2017 and maps of the tornado paths.

Another nor'easter

They're still cleaning up from the nor'easter that hit much of the eastern seaboard last week, and there's another nor'easter on the way.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain and snow pattern from the storm from Wednesday through Thursday morning:

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.

Some areas will see double-digit snow totals.

Winter storm warnings have been issued from eastern Pennsylvania up to Maine:

The Boston NWS office discussion of the nor'easter:

Damaging winds are expected:

Parts of Long Island, New York have a coastal flood warning:

Details of the warning:

National Weather Service New York NY

448 PM EST Tue Mar 6 2018

...Widespread Minor to locally Moderate Coastal Flooding on

Wednesday...

NYZ080-178-179-071215-

/O.NEW.KOKX.CF.W.0008.180307T1600Z-180307T2100Z/

/O.NEW.KOKX.CF.Y.0013.180307T0400Z-180307T0800Z/

/O.NEW.KOKX.CF.Y.0015.180308T0500Z-180308T1100Z/

Southwestern Suffolk-Southern Queens-Southern Nassau-

448 PM EST Tue Mar 6 2018

...COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO

3 AM EST WEDNESDAY...

...COASTAL FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 4 PM EST

WEDNESDAY...

...COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT

TO 6 AM EST THURSDAY...

The National Weather Service in New York NY has issued a Coastal

Flood Warning, which is in effect from 11 AM to 4 PM EST

Wednesday. A Coastal Flood Advisory has also been issued. This

Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect from 11 PM this evening to

3 AM EST Wednesday. In addition, a Coastal Flood Advisory has

been issued. This Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect from

midnight Wednesday night to 6 AM EST Thursday.

* LOCATIONS...Along the Southern bays of Long Island and Jamaica

Bay.

* TIDAL DEPARTURE...2 1/2 to 3 1/2 ft on Wednesday. 2 to 2 1/2 ft

tonight and Wednesday night.

* TIMING...Minor coastal flooding tonight and Wednesday Night.

Moderate coastal flooding during time of high tide Wednesday.

* COASTAL FLOOD IMPACTS...1 to 2 ft of flooding Tonight and

Wednesday Night. On Wednesday, 2 to 3 feet of inundation above

ground level in low lying, vulnerable areas. This will result in

numerous road closures and cause widespread flooding of low

lying property including parking lots, parks, lawns and

homes/businesses with basements near the waterfront. Vehicles

parked in vulnerable areas near the waterfront will likely

become flooded. Flooding will also extend inland from the

waterfront along tidal rivers and bays.

* SHORELINE IMPACTS...Breaking waves will result in beach erosion

with only minor damage possible to dune structures.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Coastal Flood Warning means that flooding is expected or

occurring. Coastal residents in the warned area should be alert

for rising water...and take appropriate action to protect life

and property.

A Coastal Flood Advisory indicates that onshore winds and tides

will combine to generate flooding of low areas along the shore.

Anyone with travel plans to the eastern U.S. on Wednesday or Thursday should check with their airlines about possible flight delays or cancellations.

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.