Cloudy And Cooler Thursday - Quiet Through The Weekend

Graphic above shows total precipitation - some of this could have fallen as snow.

It was a slick start across the region Wednesday morning with freezing rain falling overnight. While most areas saw light totals, it was enough to cause havoc as you stepped outside and tried to make it to work or school. Some of this also fell as snow, with 1.0" to 1.3" of snow reported from Nisswa to Moose Lake.

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While we were able to get into the 30s behind the freezing rain on Wednesday, it'll be cooler on Thursday with no precipitation to worry about. Temperatures will remain fairly steady in the upper teens to low 20s under mainly cloudy skies for the second to last day of the work week here in the Twin Cities.

As you head up into northern Minnesota there will more periods of sun vs. across southern parts of the state where cloud cover will stay pretty steady throughout the day. Highs will range from the teens in western Minnesota to the 20s in eastern parts of the state.

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For those hoping to get out and recreate in all the snow out there on the ground (13" at MSP as of Noon Wednesday), it'll be a quiet weekend to do so. Friday will be the sunniest of the days with highs only in the low 20s. We'll climb to the low 30s for Saturday with partly sunny skies. Temperatures will be even warmer on Sunday - reaching the mid-30s - with cloudy skies. I don't really think there will be that much of a chance of precipitation on Sunday - if there's a chance, it's more Sunday Night into Monday, and even then I think we'll just get clipped by the north side of the system with the bulk of it staying south.

Forecast loop from Sunday Night through next Friday.

As we head into next week we are watching three systems that could edge close to the state - one Sunday Night into Monday, a second Wednesday night into next Thursday, and a third later next Friday. The first two look to mainly pass to our south as systems move off the Rockies into the central United States. The third would be a clipper moving out of Canada. We'll keep an eye on them to see what impacts (if any) may occur locally from them.

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Steps To Lower Injuring Yourself On Ice
By Paul Douglas

"It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water" mused Philadelphia reporter and humorist Franklin P. Jones. I like snow. I can tolerate bitter cold. But ice? Unless it's on a lake or a rink it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Winds are finally increasing, putting an end to the worst midwinter stagnation event since 2005, according to MN PCA. Chilled sunshine Friday gives way to another thaw early next week. I see seasonably cold air by late January but still nothing Nanook, no Polar Vortex. I'm OK with that.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Cloudy and cooler. Wake up 23. High 25. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

FRIDAY: Nice to see the sun out again. Wake up 12. High 20. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind W 3-8 mph.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with a little drizzle. Wake up 25. High 35. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

MONDAY: A little rain or freezing rain. Wake up 31. High 33. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind N 10-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Peeks of sun, drying out. Wake up 27. High 32. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Clouds increase, snow at night? Wake up 16. High 22. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

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*Length Of Day: 9 hours, 4 minutes, and 44 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 35 seconds

*When do we see 10 Hours of Daylight?: February 6th (10 hours, 1 minutes, 13 seconds)
*When is Sunrise at/before 7:30 AM?: February 3rd (7:30 AM)
*When is Sunset at/after 5 PM?: January 17th (5:00 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
January 12th

2000: Snow falls in a narrow band over the Twin Cities. Maplewood receives 5.5 inches, while Chanhassen gets 12.

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On Thursday, two main systems will be impacting the United States. First, another round of heavy rain and mountain snow will impact parts of the Western United States. Meanwhile, we're tracking snow and ice for parts of the Upper Midwest to New England, with a mix of precipitation as far south as the Tennessee Valley and the potential of severe storms in the Deep South.

This next round of heavy rain for the west coast is aiming a bit farther north vs. some of the recent ones, impacting northern California into parts of the Pacific Northwest with 3-6" of rain through Friday.

48-hour expected precipitation totals through 4 PM PST Sunday.

A band of rain moving in Friday is just the start of another batch of rain moving in for the weekend for California. This next system will be much more widespread, impacting central and southern parts of the state once again. At least another 1-4" of rain is expected to fall across areas of California this weekend, with the heaviest falling in coastal areas. Up in the mountains - especially the Sierra Nevada - several more feet of snow will fall.

Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly Extremes

More from Inside Climate News: "Ocean heat content reached a new record high for the fourth year in a row, scientists said Wednesday as they released their annual measurements of ocean heat accumulating down to a depth of more than a mile. The findings published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science show that just in the past year, the planet's seas absorbed about 10 Zetta joules of heat—equivalent to 100 times the world's total annual electricity production. The scientists found that the warmth keeps working its way deeper into the ocean, as greenhouse gases have trapped so much heat that the oceans' deeper waters will continue to warm for centuries after humans stop using fossil energy."

Winter & Cold Weather EV Range Loss in 7,000 Cars

More from Recurrent: "All electric cars experience some degree of range loss in cold weather. For EV owners in colder winter climates, like northern portions of the United States, daily driving and charging behaviors must be adjusted in these months. That's the bad news. The good news is that this range loss is temporary and there is no long term detriment to your battery. As the ice melts and the temperatures rise, your vehicle's expected range at full charge should return to normal."

The US's first-ever complete solar supply chain is coming

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser