Snowfall ending; shoveling begins
Monday's burst of heavy snow struck the Twin Cities right about on schedule during the afternoon, in time to make a real mess of the evening commute.
The near-whiteout began about an hour or so later than the forecasts posted the previous day predicted, but I would consider that forecast as quite successful. Forecast models, and our abilities to interpret them and modify the forecast products, are way ahead of what we had during my earlier years of forecasting.
Plowing continued through the night. Now, the snow blowing and shoveling are underway.
How much snow fell?
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In general, a range of about 4 to 8 inches of dense snow fell across the Twin Cities metro area with some locally-higher amounts. Heavier amounts in the 8- to 10-plus inches range fell farther north in Minnesota from around Detroit Lakes and Little Falls to St. Cloud and east to Hinckley.
The Twin Cities National Weather Service has an interactive web page for checking out the snowfall reports.
Light snow ending
An area of light snow continues but is sinking southward and will taper off and end by late Tuesday morning or early afternoon.
High temperatures this afternoon should range from the mid 20s in the northwest corner of the state and upper 20s elsewhere near Canada and Lake Superior to the low 30s across most of Minnesota. The Twin Cities should have a high around 32.
Winds will be gusty from the northeast becoming north but will diminish toward evening.
Clearing skies, lighter winds and fresh snow will conspire to create a chilly night tonight. Morning lows on Wednesday will be in the single digits across the northern half of Minnesota and teens farther south.
Wednesday
Wednesday will bring cooler-than-normal temperatures across Minnesota. Highs will be in the 20s. The Twin Cities should hit about 28.
Meanwhile, our former storm will turn into a nor'easter. Winter storm warnings have been posted from eastern Pennsylvania, beginning this evening, all the way to Maine.
Snowfalls of 8 to 15 inches are likely to be common inland while coastal areas will get lesser amounts. Travel could become difficult or impossible around the New York City area by Wednesday evening. Boston should remain too warm for major snowy impacts.
Thursday
The nor'easter will continue up into New England. Weather around our part of the world will be quiet.
Milder toward the weekend
No major storms are pointed our way. A bit of light snow and rain might arrive on Saturday, but nothing serious is on tap.
Temperatures will moderate a bit each day Wednesday through Sunday even though our fresh snow will absorb some of the warmth and slow the process. By Sunday the metro area might flirt with 40 degrees.