Weather Rollercoaster Continues - Icy AM Mix Monday

Wintry Mix Of Precipitation Sunday Night Into Monday

An area of icy weather is expected across southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin Sunday Night into Monday as an area of low pressure slides across the region. At the same time, a mid-level disturbance will bring snow - heavy at times - across North Dakota into Minnesota.

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Recent Temperature Rollercoaster

It's been a wild past few days temperature-wise here in the Twin Cities. Here's a look at highs between Tuesday and Saturday - a swing from -13F on Wednesday (a whopping 38 degrees below average) to a snow-melting high of 39F on Saturday. We have more ups and downs in the temperature department this week - I've got the seven day outlook below.

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Weather Rollercoaster Continues - Icy AM Mix Monday
By DJ Kayser, filling in for Douglas

Whee! There's been no need to buy a ticket for a theme park recently, as we have gone on our own weather rollercoaster ride. Last week started off with a few inches of snow, and then the ride really got going - dropping to a low of -28F Wednesday and then quickly swinging back to almost +40F with melting snow Saturday.

For those who like the ups and downs, the weather rollercoaster continues this week - though with not as extremely cold temperatures.

An icy mix of precipitation is expected early today, with heavier snow totals near the international border. Temperatures will fall throughout the day, dropping into the teens by the midday hours.

A few more rounds of snow are possible through the middle of the week. After that, we drop back into the freezer, although it won't be as bad as last week - only single digits (above zero) for highs Friday before warmer weather makes a return.

Just remember - Punxsutawney Phil predicted an earlier spring Saturday. After the middle of last week, we can all hope he is correct.

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Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Icy AM mix. Falling temps. High 24. Low 0. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.
TUESDAY: Colder with afternoon snow. High 14. Low 10. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Snow moves in overnight. High 23. Low 12. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.
THURSDAY: Snowy day expected. High 15. Low -5. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind N 10-15 mph.
FRIDAY: Coldest day this week. Peaks of sun. High 7. Low -8. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.
SATURDAY: Increasing clouds. Rebounding temps. High 14. Low 8. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.
SUNDAY: Potential of a few snow showers. High 22. Low 4. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SE 10-15 mph.

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This Day in Weather History
February 4th

1984: The event termed the 'Surprise Blizzard' moves across Minnesota and parts of the Dakotas. Meteorologists were caught off guard with its rapid movement. People described it as a 'wall of white.' Thousands of motorists were stranded in subzero weather. Only a few inches of snow fell, but was whipped by winds up to 80 mph. 16 people died in stranded cars and outside.

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Average Temperatures & Precipitation for Minneapolis
February 4th

Average High: 26F (Record: 51F set in 2005)
Average Low: 9F (Record: -28F set in 1886)
Average Precipitation: 0.03" (Record: 0.34" set in 1955)
Average Snow: 0.3" (Record: 4.4" in 1971)

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Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
February 4th

Sunrise: 7:29 AM
Sunset: 5:25 PM

*Length Of Day: 9 hours, 55 minutes and 46 seconds
*Daylight Gained Since Yesterday: ~2 minute and 39 seconds

*Next Sunrise At Or Before 7 AM: February 24th (6:59 AM)
*Next Sunset At Or After 5:30 PM: February 8th (5:30 PM)
*When Will We See 10 Hours Of Daylight? February 6th (10 hours, 1 minute, and 10 seconds)

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Minnesota Weather Outlook

A wintry mix of precipitation will be possible during mainly the morning hours Monday across central and southern Minnesota, with heavy snow across northern Minnesota. For most areas of the state, the precipitation should move out throughout the day. Highs will range from the 30s in southeastern Minnesota to the single digits across western and northern Minnesota. Across portions of the state, including the Twin Cities, highs will be set early in the day, with temperatures dropping throughout the daylight hours.

The Twin Cities will sit right in between two very different air masses on Monday, with highs slightly below average. As you head into western Minnesota, some locations will be about 20 degrees below average, with highs even further below average into the Dakotas. Meanwhile, Madison and Milwaukee will be 15-20 degrees above average.

It will also be a windy Monday across the state, with wind gusts of 30+ mph across central and southern Minnesota.

After dropping temperatures Monday in the Twin Cities, highs will be in the teens on Tuesday and 20s on Wednesday. We see another temperature drop toward the end of the week, with highs only in the single digits Friday before they start to rebound into the weekend.

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National Weather Forecast

On Monday, an area of low pressure and associated fronts will bring rain from parts of the Great Lakes into the Deep South, with a icy mixture in parts of the upper Midwest and heavy snow from North Dakota to northern MInnesota. This will also produce some precipitation across northern New England. A mess of rain and snow is also expected out west. Highs will be over 30-degrees below average across parts of the Northern Plains and Northern Rockies, meanwhile they will be a good 15-30 degrees above average across parts of the mid-section of the country.

Heavy precipitation will continue across the west coast, with up to 3" of rain possible in spots - and even higher amounts of melted precipitation in the Sierra.

Four to eight feet of snow could fall through the first part of the week in the Sierras, with the potential of over a foot as well into parts of the Northern Rockies. Meanwhile, a band of 6"+ of snow will fall from eastern Montana into northern Minnesota Sunday into Monday.

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Nepalese Rice Farmers Boost Yields By Sowing Fewer Plants And Cutting Water

More from NPR: "Apsara Bharati and her neighbors are spread across a small bit of land in Kavre, about 20 miles outside Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. The women bend to plant rice seedlings in mud up to their calves in Bharati's field. "One by one," Bharati instructs the women, who are used to placing several plants at once. Bharati is practicing SRI, or the system of rice intensification. The technique, which was developed in Madagascar in the 1980s by French Jesuit priest Henri de Laulanié, involves several practices that seem counterintuitive to increasing production, such as planting fewer seedlings, planting them younger and using less water. But small farmers across the world have reported massive gains in yield that they attribute to the process. A Warming Planet Could Zap Nutrition From Rice That Feeds The World THE SALT A Warming Planet Could Zap Nutrition From Rice That Feeds The World Farmers using SRI in Nepal have consistently doubled their yields, according to Rajendra Uprety, a senior agriculture extension officer in southern Nepal and a pioneer of the practice in the country. This can make a huge difference for small landholders who rely on what they grow for months out of the year. Uprety says by using SRI, farmers can triple their income by growing more expensive varieties that they would otherwise eschew because of low yields. SRI also cuts water demand, which is becoming increasingly important as climate change causes worries about scarcity and food security."

Hurricane Katrina's aftermath included spike in heart disease hospitalizations

More from ScienceDaily: "Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes are generally described in terms of wind speed, land area, and inches of rain. They're also described in terms of human costs, such as the number of fatalities and injuries. Hurricane Katrina, for example, led to approximately 1,000 deaths in Louisiana, of which 75 percent were among adults age 60 or above. What are the hidden health costs, though, that might not be reported immediately, but which are a result of a natural disaster? Some studies have looked at stress disorders, but a new study from researchers and scholars at Tufts University examined changes in the number of cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalizations before and after Katrina, and the disparate effect of Katrina on black and white older adults in Louisiana. The co-first author on the study is Ninon Becquart, a former scholar in the NIH-funded Post-Baccalaureate Research Program (PREP) at Tufts who used R, SQL, and ArcMap to conduct sophisticated data analysis, including visualization. She was mentored on the research project by Elena Naumova, chair of the Division of Nutrition Data Science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts."

Climate change 2020: can the Democrats make it an election issue?

More from The Guardian: "Such ideas could now form the backbone of a national strategy that more and more Democrats are supporting and which will also aim to help slow the pace of climate change: a Green New Deal.  The concept has the backing of the 2020 presidential contenders Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren and the likely candidate Bernie Sanders. The New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts senator Ed Markey will soon roll out a brief outline.  A Green New Deal will aim to spur jobs and tackle inequity. It will aim to help people of color and indigenous communities. And it will try to help places like Benham, Kentucky. But most importantly, people involved say, the document will push candidates for the White House to explain what they plan to do about climate change."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great Monday! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser)!

 - D.J. Kayser