Well, that escalated quickly. My weather column in Friday’s Minnesota Star Tribune said an inch of snow on Sunday. Saturday, I predicted plowable snow for Sunday. Sunday’s paper inflated the forecast to 5 to 8 inches. What happened, Paul?
We try to set expectations for big storms days in advance, wary of being accused of “hyping the weather.” So it’s always a delicate balancing act. What looked like a dry but windy cold frontal passage in the middle of last week mutated into a Sunday blizzard as weather models finally caught up. Merging jet stream energy; a slower, wetter, more intense storm.
Weather prediction is always a humbling endeavor. One big takeaway: There will be scenarios where we can provide (confident) 3- to 4-day lead times. Other patterns allow only one or two days’ advance notice. No one wants a “surprise blizzard.”
Travel should slowly improve on Monday as winds ease up by the afternoon. A clipper may drop 1 to 2 inches of snow on New Year’s Eve. Great timing. Highs poke into the 20s by the end of this week, our new definition of “warm front.” Enjoy the snow!
