Chilly Thursday But Warming Back Up For The Weekend

It was a rainy Tuesday in the metro, with officially 0.68" falling before the flip of the calendar day. That beat the record of 0.43" back in 1950.

The Twin Cities wasn't the only location that saw record rain on Tuesday - both Brainerd and Hibbing also broke records. The airport location that had the most rain on Tuesday was Paynesville with exactly 1" of rain.

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Parts of northern and western Minnesota saw more snow than rain with this system, with a few 2"+ tallies. The highest report was in International Falls where 2.8" was reported. Donnelly reported 2.2" and Ely reported 2".

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Behind the system that brought us our rain and snow in the middle of the week comes calmer and colder air for Thursday. Temperatures will remain in the teens throughout the day - starting off in the low teens and climbing into the upper teens for highs. We'll be on the edge of cloud cover from a system passing to our southeast, so I expect a cloudy start to the day with sunnier conditions into the afternoon.

A system passing mainly to our south and east could slightly clip far southeastern Minnesota with light snow on Thursday, though most of the snow will fall across Iowa and Wisconsin. Cloudier conditions will be expected in the morning hours across southern Minnesota, with sunnier skies by the afternoon. More sun than clouds will be expected throughout the day as you head farther north. Highs will range from the single digits in northwest Minnesota to around 20F in southeast Minnesota.

Quiet weather is expected as we head into the weekend with warmer weather returning again. Friday will be mainly sunny in the metro with highs in the upper 20s. We climb back into the upper 30s on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday looks to be the sunnier day of the weekend, with more clouds than sun on Sunday.

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Fool's Spring Drawing To A Close
By Paul Douglas

Fool's Spring is coming to an end this weekend with one more heart-warming thaw. Second Winter arrives next week as colder air returns, setting the stage for potentially significant snow late next week. No word on when the Spring of Deception gets here this year.

A record .68" rain fell at MSP International Airport Tuesday. Had it been 5-10 degrees colder we would have shoveled 6-10" of slushy snow. It's always jarring seeing midwinter rain events, which are increasing as our winters continue to warm.

Plowable snow is possible a week from today but amounts are very much up in the air. We are due for some frozen water. Stay tuned eh?

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Some sun, chilly. Wake up 8. High 20. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind N 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY: Sunny and breezy. Closer to average. Wake up 4. High 28. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

SUNDAY: A few patchy clouds, still nice. Wake up 24. High 36. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 8-13 mph.

MONDAY: A little light snow possible. Wake up 22. High 31. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a cold wind. Wake up 15. High 19. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 15-25 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Fading sun, snow at night? Wake up 2. High 18. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind NE 10-20 mph.

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*Length Of Day: 10 hours, 29 minutes, and 43 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 56 seconds

*When do we see 11 Hours of Daylight?: February 27th (11 hours, 2 minutes, 59 seconds)
*When is Sunrise at/before 7:00 AM?: February 24th (6:59 AM)
*When is Sunset at/after 6:00 PM?: March 1st (6:00 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
February 16th

1981: A significant warmup occurs across Minnesota. Highs in the 50s and 60s are common. 5 daily high records are broken in a row in the Twin Cities, with many others also broken statewide.

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A strong storm will continue to track northeastward as we head through Thursday with the center of low pressure moving into the Ohio Valley. On the north side, a heavy band of snow with some icing will occur from the Central Plains to New England. In the warm sector, storms are expected - some of which will be severe.

A band of at least 4-10" of snow will fall from Colorado to the Great Lakes as we head through Thursday. On the warm side of the storm, up to 3" of rain could fall across portions of the Deep South and Tennessee River Valley.

Severe Threat Thursday: An Enhanced Risk of severe weather (threat level 3 of 5) is in place from the Ohio River Valley to the northern Gulf Coast states. This threat area includes places like Hattiesburg and Tupelo (MS), Birmingham and Huntsville (AL), Nashville (TN), Bowling Green and Louisville (KY), and Cincinnati and Columbus (OH).

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More from Semafor: "Some of the world's busiest and biggest cities, including New York, Cairo, Mumbai, Jakarta, Shanghai, Copenhagen, London, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Lagos, and Los Angeles, are at risk of being flooded if global temperatures continue to creep up and cause further sea level rise, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Tuesday. Guterres told the UN Security Council that "every fraction of a degree counts," and that if temperatures rise by 2 degrees, it would lead to severe impacts on every continent."

Everything you need to know about the wild world of heat pumps

More from MIT Technology Review: "The concept behind heat pumps is simple: powered by electricity, they move heat around to either cool or heat buildings. It's not a new idea—they were invented in the 1850s and have been used in homes since the 1960s. But all of a sudden, they've become the hottest home appliance, shoved into the spotlight by the potential for cost savings and climate benefits, as well as by recent policy incentives. Simple though the basic idea may be, the details of how heat pumps work are fascinating. In the name of controlling your home's temperature, this device can almost seem to break the laws of physics. Heat pumps are also getting better: new models are more efficient and better able to handle cold weather."

Elon Musk agrees to open parts of Tesla's charging network to everyone

More from the Washington Post: "Tesla will open parts of its charging network to all drivers, the White House announced Wednesday, a move that could help reassure road-trip loving Americans that they can travel long distances in electric vehicles. One of the necessities of an all-electric driving future is a reliable, fast charging network — one that stretches from Southern California to the rural reaches of Maine, covering busy interstates, quiet highways and city centers. That charging network already exists. But it's only been available to Tesla drivers — until now."

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- D.J. Kayser