Snow reports; a chilly weekend, but nice weather on Thanksgiving

Our average high this time of year is 40 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area. We won't be anywhere near 40 this Saturday, as we top out in the 20s.

Mild temps are still a few days away.

Temperature trends

Saturday afternoon highs will only reach the teens in much of northern Minnesota, with 20s in the south.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

On Sunday, the far north will top out in the teens, with 20s in the remainder of the northern half of Minnesota. There will be some 30s in the south:

rt1118h2

Looking ahead to the coming week, Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to be around 30 on Monday, followed by lower 30s Tuesday. We could reach about 40 degrees on Wednesday, and our Thanksgiving Day high temp is forecast to be around 44 degrees.

Our average Twin Cities high temp on Nov. 22 is 37 degrees, so that 44 degree high would be a few degrees warmer than average.

Thanksgiving high temps should be mild across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

rt1122h2

Snow chances

Eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin have a chance of light snow showers or flurries this Saturday morning.

Northern Minnesota will have some periods of snow Sunday night, and some light snow is possible in east-central and southeastern Minnesota Monday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern Sunday evening through Monday:

rt1117rad
NOAA NAM simulated radar from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon, via tropicaltidbits

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 or snow.

Snow reports

The National Weather Service office in Chanhassen reported .3 of an inch of snow Friday evening, while Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport saw only .1 of an inch.  Edina, Burnsville and Prior Lake reported .5 of an inch.

Several inches of snow fell Friday afternoon/evening in portions  of west-central and southern Minnesota.

Here are a few totals:

  • 5 inches in Springfield and Sacred Heart

  • 4 inches in Blue Earth and Cottonwood

  • 3.5 inches in Mankato

Additional snowfall totals will be posted by the NWS this morning.

Roads are snow covered and slippery in portions of west-central and southern Minnesota this Saturday morning:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will post road condition updates.

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.