Plowable snow on Friday; cold and colder this weekend
Southwestern Minnesota will have a chance of occasional light snow or flurries Thursday, but most Minnesotans won't see any new snow this final day of the month.
Imagine that, a snow-free day in this February of relentless snows!
The final tally
Our current February snow total of 39 inches is a new Twin Cities record for the month and more than five times our average Twin Cities February snow total of 7.8 inches.
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The National Weather Service has compiled a detailed summary of this incredibly snowy month, with a focus on records set in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Minn., and Eau Claire, Wis.
The Twin Cities February snow rankings look like this:
This is the fourth highest monthly snow total in Twin Cities weather records, which go back to the 1880s. Here are the top three Twin Cities monthly snow totals:
46.9 inches November 1991
46.4 inches January 1982
40.o inches March 1951
We missed taking over the third snowiest month position by just 1.1 inches!
I was thinking that someone who has lived here only about 11 months has seen two new Twin Cities monthly snowfall records; our new February record plus our snowiest April.
Friday snow
We're still on track for a plowable snow on Friday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern from midnight Thursday night through Friday evening:
The snow could start as early as Friday morning drive time in the Twin Cities, and linger through much of Friday afternoon.
We could see 3 to 4 inches of snow from this one:
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
You can check the latest forecasts from the NWS offices in the Twin Cities, Grand Forks, N.D., Sioux Falls, S.D., La Crosse, Wis. and Duluth.
Temperature trends
Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Thursday afternoon highs in the lower 20s. Northwestern Minnesota could peak in the upper teens.
Similar highs are on tap for Friday:
Teens are expected in eastern Minnesota Saturday afternoon, with single digit highs in the west:
Sunday will be even colder, with single digits above zero shifting to the east and the west staying below zero:
Twin Cities metro highs are expected to be around 5 above on Monday, followed by 16 on Tuesday and lower 20s Wednesday.
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.