Calm And Cloudy Monday Before Plowable Snow Tuesday

It's the calm before the snow on Monday, with cloudy conditions expected in the metro. It'll be good weather to get the snow stakes in or finish up with those holiday decorations before the snow flies (and sticks) again as highs climb to the low 40s.

With a warm front pushing through and an area of low pressure near the Canadian border, some light snow can be expected during the day up in northern Minnesota with maybe up to half an inch for some locations. Otherwise, we'll see mainly cloudy skies across the state with highs in the 30s and 40s.

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Forecast loop from Midnight Monday Night to Midnight Tuesday Night.

As we head into the Monday Night/Tuesday time frame, we will be tracking a system moving from the Front Range to the Great Lakes that'll bring in accumulating snow. We'll be watching to see where the heaviest band of snow sets up (2-5" with some higher tallies) - models have been shifting this somewhat southward throughout Sunday, with the shorter-range NAM placing it across the metro (which is what is shown above) and the global American (GFS) and European models placing it south of the metro.

NOAA Weather Service offices are calling for the heaviest snow (again, 2-5") from the Worthington to Fairmont areas northeastward through the metro and into western/northern Wisconsin. We will have to watch for refinements on this as we head into Monday, as if the global model trend of "south of the metro" continues, these totals for the metro could be squashed downward.

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Cold and Frozen Water Beats The Alternatives
By Paul Douglas

I've had it with Minnesota-deniers. Recently a shop-owner in the Caribbean asked where I live. Minnesota. "Oh, I lived there once. Hated it! Too Cold." Well we don't get hurricanes. "But you DO get tornadoes, no?" They are rare and usually small, but yes.

Call me crazy, but in an era of rising seas, super-sized hurricanes, raging wildfires and chronic water shortages, I'm fine with outbreaks of frozen water, coats and boots. And tinkering with my amazing dual-battery snow blower.

No slushy obstacles today as the mercury nicks 40F. Wet snow is likely Tuesday as a storm tracks south of Minnesota. Models are still contradictory about where the axis of heaviest snow may set up (NOAA's models suggest far north metro while ECMWF keeps heaviest snow totals south/east of MSP). Something in the 1-3" or 2-4" range seems reasonable. Probably enough to shovel but not THE BIG ONE.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy, breezy. Wake up 28. High 40. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

TUESDAY: Snow likely, 2-3"+ possible. Wake up 30. High 32. Chance of precipitation 90%. Wind N 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Better travel but a cold wind. Wake up 20. High 24. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 15-30 mph.

FRIDAY: Patchy clouds, thawing out. Wake up 26. High 41. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY: A few windblown flurries. Wake up 28. High 31. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind NW 15-30 mph.

SUNDAY: Some sun, still chilly. Wake up 12. High 33. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
November 28th

*When Do We Drop Below 9 Hours Of Daylight?: December 3rd (8 hours, 59 minutes, 4 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise: December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*Earliest Sunset: December 5th-December 13th (4:31 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
November 28th

1983: Widespread snowfall occurs across much of central Minnesota with snowfall totals at or above 1 foot in many areas. A record 15 inches fell in Gaylord and 14 inches fell in Farmington.

1960: A major storm produces near hurricane force winds on Lake Superior, with 20 to 40 foot waves on the lake. Erosion and damage occurred on the North Shore.

On Monday we'll be tracking rain and snow across the western United States, with some of the snow at higher elevations heavily falling. Some of that will start to work into the Plains Monday Night. Otherwise, some storms will be possible in eastern Texas, some snow will fall in northern Minnesota, and some rain and snow will be possible along the Appalachians into New England.

Heavy snow will continue to fall in the mountains of the western United States, with at least a foot possible through Tuesday evening. As a system works out into the central U.S. on Tuesday a stripe of at least 3" of snow will impact areas of the Upper Midwest. An inch or two of rain will be possible in areas east of the Mississippi River.

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Using satellites for faster flood information

More from the University of Queensland: "Researchers at The University of Queensland have used satellites with radar imaging sensors to see through clouds and map flooding and say the technique could provide faster, more detailed information to keep communities safe. Professor Noam Levin from UQ's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences said the project combined images from optical satellites with information from imaging radar satellites. ... During Brisbane's February 2022 floods, researchers combined satellite day-time pictures showing the extent of the flood with imaging radar and optical night-time data of the lights associated with human activity."

More from Canary Media: "The deluge of discounted TVs, air fryers, yoga pants and mattresses on offer during the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush all likely passed through a port on their way from the factory to stores and warehouses. Maritime hubs are gateways to our global consumer economy, handling billions of tons of cargo every year. They're also crucial links in the growing global effort to clean up cargo shipping. As the maritime sector works to curb its planet-warming emissions, ports are expected to play a pivotal role — both by storing low- and zero-emission fuels for ships and by building infrastructure to service next-generation vessels. Today, however, that work is only just beginning. A new project by the Ports for People campaign scrutinizes the world's top container ports to see where they're making progress on decarbonization and — more often than not — where they're falling short."

France's first offshore wind farm is now fully online

More from electrek: "France's first commercial-scale offshore wind project, the 480 megawatt (MW) Saint-Nazaire Offshore Wind Farm, is now fully up and running.Eolien Maritime France (EMF), a consortium of EDF Renewables, Enbridge, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, developed and owns the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm. ... France's first wind farm, which is off the southwestern coast of France, will produce the equivalent of 20% of the department of Loire-Atlantique's annual electricity consumption. It will supply the equivalent of enough electricity for 700,000 people annually."

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