Cloudy Friday With Lingering Snow (Mainly North Of The Metro)

On Wednesday, MSP picked up 0.56" of rain, which was more rain than we saw in September and October COMBINED (0.48" between the two months). Between Tuesday and Wednesday we saw 0.87" fall.

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Well... winter is now here, apparently. Temperatures will remain fairly steady in the upper 20s and low 30s as we head through Veterans Day here in the metro under lots of cloud cover. I do believe some wrap-around flurries or snow showers will be possible during the day as the system that has been impacting us departs - however unless you are up north, it likely won't accumulate to much if anything. Friday will also be quite breezy, with west-northwest winds sustained around 15 mph but gusting as high as 30 mph.

The better chance of some snow showers lingering through the day will be up across northern and central Minnesota - otherwise, it'll be a cloudy and chilly day with highs across the state and western Wisconsin in the 20s and 30s. For snowfall totals on Friday, we can expect maybe an inch or two possible up in far northern Minnesota, with maybe enough to coat the ground and measure as far south as Mille Lacs.

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More November-like weather will continue into the foreseeable future, with highs in the 20s and low 30s through at least the middle of next week. This weekend looks quiet with partly sunny skies. Saturday will be the slightly breezier day of the weekend for anyone out in their deer stands. As we head into next week we will watch the potential of a few snow chances.

And with the cooler weather, we have to start accounting for wind chill values. The next few mornings in the metro wind chills will dip into the teens, maybe being able to hang onto 20F Sunday morning with slightly less wind.

The latest drought monitor was released Thursday morning, and we mostly saw an increase in drought once again. What is important to note here is that this does NOT account for any rain that fell after 6 AM Tuesday - so the rain we saw here during the middle of the week will have potential impacts in NEXT week's update. While we did see a very slight decrease in the Moderate Drought area (51.77% vs 51.98%), all other active categories - including Extreme - did see an increase. That Extreme Drought area now pretty much encompasses the entire metro.

About the only good news that we saw this week was in far southeastern Minnesota, which was removed from the abnormally dry category into no drought categorization whatsoever. Otherwise, the rest of the state only saw conditions stay steady or worsen. Again, it'll be interesting to see what these maps look like next week when we account for our mid-week rain.

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Cold Has Arrived. Snow Arrives Next Week
By Paul Douglas

I'm feeling better about pounding in my driveway stakes and putting fresh snow tires on my wife's vehicle. Nothing like easing into winter huh? Like flipping on a light switch.

We were due for a correction. Since June 1 temperatures at MSP have been 5th warmest since 1871. 2021 was the warmest such period on record. Wind chills in the teens will slap you wide awake today heading out the door, and I see 20s and 30s (for highs) into next week. Welcome to January!

When is the last time I used the word "plowable" in a sentence? My thanks to a very sharp meteorology professor for coming up with that scale. An inch of snow may fall Monday with several inches Tuesday into Wednesday. A potentially long-duration snow event next week, and it could be enough to plow and shovel. Too early for more specifics. Still not ready.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

FRIDAY: Cloudy. Cold wind. Wake up 27. High 32. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NW 15-25 mph.

SUNDAY: More clouds than sun, less wind. Wake up 26. High 31. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Light snow, slick roads? Wake up 27. High 33. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind SE 8-13 mph.

TUESDAY: More wet snow. Accumulation possible. Wake up 31. High 34. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind SE 8-13 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Snow lingers. Could be plowable? Wake up 31. High 34. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind N 8-13 mph.

THURSDAY: Hello January! Flurries taper but icy. Wake up 20. High 27. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
November 11th

*Length Of Day: 9 hours, 43 minutes, and 0 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 30 seconds

*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 11th

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Nicole will continue to weaken and eventually merge with a frontal system in the Southeast/Mid-Atlantic on Friday, still bringing heavy rain, stronger wind gusts, and a few tornadoes to the region. Meanwhile, the system that brought blizzard conditions and ice to the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest will move across the Great Lakes with rain and snow. Another system in the Southern Plains will bring a strong storm threat. And finally, a system working toward the Pacific Northwest will lead to another round of rain and higher-elevation snow.

While heavy snow tapers off Thursday Night in the upper Midwest, totals could top a foot across North Dakota and northern Minnesota from that system moving through. Heavy rain amounts of 2-5" will be possible in the eastern United States through the weekend due to whatever is left of Nicole merging with a frontal boundary and moving up the East Coast.

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Four States Just Got a 'Trifecta' of Democratic Control, Paving the Way for Climate and Clean Energy Legislation

More lower-income US households are adopting solar

More from Canary Media: "Home solar isn't just for high rollers. A November report by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that even though it's mostly wealthy customers who put solar on their roofs, households with low and moderate incomes are taking an increasing share of the market. The report is part of an ongoing effort since 2010 to track the demographics of rooftop solar adopters, benchmarks that help ​"make sure that communities that have historically borne the brunt of the energy industry are not left out," said Galen Barbose, research scientist in the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at LBNL."

What happened on the third day of Cop27 in Egypt?

More from The Guardian: "After the leaders' speeches of the first couple of days, most of the negotiations have now moved behind closed doors. The big discussions today were all around finance, and there does appear to have been some movement on this, as Damian Carrington reported, with positive momentum potentially starting to build on a pivotal issue as the UK said it would allow some debt payment deferrals, while Austria and New Zealand put forward funding for loss and damage."

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- D.J. Kayser