Warming trend; wet snow potential on Saturday

One nice thing (nice?) about April snow is that it melts quickly.

I didn't shovel the one inch of snow that was sitting on my sidewalk this morning, and the snow melted by early afternoon.

The official snow total Sunday afternoon/night at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 1.3 inches, which brings our total for the 2017-2018 Twin Cities snow season to 62.5 inches.

This is the most snow that the metro area has seen since the winter of 2013-2014:

Warming trend

The official high in the Twin Cities metro area was only 38 degrees Monday afternoon, which is way below our average high of 55 degrees for this time of year.

We'll do better on Tuesday, with highs in the 40s in the metro area and most of Minnesota:

Far northern Minnesota will see 30s.

On Wednesday, most of Minnesota will have highs in the 40s, with some lower 50s in the south.

Metro area highs are expected to reach 50 on Wednesday, with lower 50s possible on Thursday.

Rain and snow chances

A few snow showers are possible in about the northern half of Minnesota on Tuesday, possibly mixed with rain in the afternoon.  The Twin Cities metro area could see a passing afternoon rain shower.

On Wednesday, there's a chance of afternoon and evening rain showers in central and southern Minnesota, with snow showers or a mix in northern Minnesota.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Tuesday through Wednesday evening:

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 rain and snow.

Friday and Saturday 

Our weather could be very interesting Friday into Saturday night as a strong low pressure moves across Iowa and spins moisture over Minnesota.

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

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.

If the low pressure system takes the GFS track, several inches of snow are possible from Friday night into Saturday night, especially in portions of central and northern Minnesota.

The Twin Cities metro area would tend to see lower snow amounts due to a later changeover to snow.

One key will be the temperatures in the lowest mile and a half of the atmosphere.

Check forecast updates as we get closer to Friday and Saturday!

Severe weather awareness week

This is severe weather awareness week in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

This is a good time to prepare for our severe weather season, and review what you should do when severe weather hits.

As part of severe weather awareness week, there will be a tornado drill on Thursday.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public safety:

The most important events during Severe Weather Awareness Week are the two annual statewide tornado drills. These drills are scheduled for Thursday, April 12 2018 at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. (Counties may chose to opt out of the drills if actual severe weather is possible in the area)

Outdoor warning sirens and NOAA Weather Radios will sound in a simulated tornado warning. The first drill is intended for institutions and businesses. The evening drill is intended for second shift workers and families.

The severe weather awareness week topic for today is how to receive alerts and warnings.

  A NOAA weather radio could save your life, and you can program it to wake you up when a warning is issued for your county overnight.

There are many other ways to receive warnings and storm information;

Of course, we can add the Minnesota Public Radio Network and the MPR news live weather blog as sources of severe weather information.

Pay attention to warning sirens, but be aware that you might not hear them if you are indoors.

More on warning sirens, from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety:

Siren Activation Information

Important Note: The counties and cities in Minnesota own and operate all sirens in their jurisdictions. They also set the policies and procedures of how and when to activate them. Neither the National Weather Service or the State of Minnesota own, operate or control any sirens.

There are many different policies regarding siren activation that are used by the various cities and counties. Some will activate sirens across the entire county for tornado warnings only. Others will activate sirens countywide for tornado warnings and all severe thunderstorm warnings. Some will activate sirens across the entire county for tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms that have winds of at least 70 or 75 mph. Others will activate sirens only for portions of counties. Local officials may also sound the sirens anytime they believe severe weather is a threat, even if there is no warning from the National Weather Service.

Sirens normally sound for about three minutes, and then go silent. It is very rare to keep the sirens sounding for the entire warning, since that would cause the backup battery to run out, which would be critical in the event that power goes out. Furthermore, the siren motor will fail much more quickly if the siren sounds continuously. Some jurisdictions may repeat siren activation every few minutes.

NOTE: There is no such thing as an "all-clear" siren.

It's good to have several ways to receive severe weather alerts as you go through the coming severe weather season.