Messy spring storm impacting the region Saturday

Forecast loop from 6 PM Friday to 6 AM Sunday.

We continue to watch a very messy Spring storm moving in as we head through Friday Night into Saturday. We'll watch two waves of moisture. The first move in Friday Night, bringing some freezing rain and rain along with it. Some precipitation will remain as we head into Saturday morning, but many areas might actually get a break for a little bit. The second batch starts to move in during the late morning hours, bringing showers and storms from the metro southeastward and freezing rain/snow to the northwest. As we head into Saturday Night, rain here in the metro will change over to freezing rain, then snow, ending as we head toward Sunday morning.

Overall liquid amounts (rain or melted wintry precipitation) will be around or over an inch from parts of eastern Minnesota into Wisconsin.

Mainly off to the northwest of the metro - from areas like Canby to Little Falls to the North Shore - have the best chance of seeing a band of at least 2-5" of snow. We will also watch the icing potential across the region, with over a tenth of an inch possible in these same areas.

Across the region with this storm we have Winter Weather Advisories stretching from southwest Minnesota to the Arrowhead, Winter Storm Warnings around Duluth due to heavier snow and ice accumulations, and Ice Storm Warnings in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan due to the potential of a quarter-inch or more of ice.

In the warm sector, we will also be watching the potential for severe weather. A Slight Risk of severe weather now nudges north into southeastern Minnesota on Saturday, including the Rochester area. Large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes are possible. Note the earliest tornadoes on record for the state came on March 6th, 2017.

Again here in the metro, we will mainly be tracking rain during the daytime hours and even the potential of a few storms. Rain is expected to be light to moderate throughout the day. Highs will climb into the mid-40s.

You can see that warm nose sneaking northward into southern Minnesota, with 50s for areas like Mankato and Rochester and the potential of storms. Head north and west of the metro and you start to encounter that wintry precipitation with highs in the 20s and 30s.

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The good news is that we'll see quieter weather heading into the second half of the weekend. While some lingering freezing rain or snow showers are possible very early Sunday morning (mainly before 7 AM), most of the day will be dry but cloudy and cooler with highs in the low 30s. Winds will also be strong on Sunday, with gusts up to 25 mph. More peeks of sun are expected Monday.

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After a quite warm Saturday with those storms in the forecast, relatively cooler weather with highs in the 30s return Sunday through the middle of next week. It is worth noting I see another cool down late in the week into early next weekend, with highs in the teens and 20s possible for a few days.

Messy Spring Storm Impacting The Region Today
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

A messy Spring storm is impacting the region today. Here in the metro, we'll see showers and even some thunder before ending as a wintry mix of freezing rain and snow tonight. South of the metro some storms could be strong - and it is worth noting the earliest Minnesota tornadoes on record occurred on March 6, 2017. Snow and ice will fall to our north and west with a band of 2-5" of snow expected from Canby to Little Falls to the North Shore.

Highs will remain mainly in the 30s behind this system from Sunday through the middle of next week. Behind our next best precipitation chance Wednesday Night into Thursday, we'll see cooler temperatures move in for a couple of days.

A reminder Spring is on the way: fish houses in the southern two-thirds of the state need to be off the ice Monday Night. That ice will soon (relatively speaking) be gone, and before you know it, we'll be talking about the Minnesota Fishing Opener on May 14. Meanwhile, 64.15% of Lake Superior is ice-covered according to NOAA, its highest concentration so far this winter.

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SATURDAY: Rain ends as nighttime mix. Wake up 33. High 45. Chance of precipitation 100%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: Early AM flurry. Mainly cloudy. Wake up 25. High 32. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

MONDAY: AM clouds. Sunnier skies in the PM. Wake up 17. High 30. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: Windy. Sun/cloud mix. Wake up 16. High 38. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Clouds increase. Late night snow. Wake up 18. High 35. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Chilled sunshine. Wake up 5. High 18. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
March 5th

*Length Of Day: 11 hours, 22 minutes, and 23 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 7 seconds

*When Do We See 11.5 Hours Of Daylight: March 8th (11 hours, 31 minutes, 47 seconds)
*Earliest Sunrise Before DST Begins: March 12th (6:30 AM)
*Latest Sunset Before DST Begins: March 12th (6:15 PM)

This Day in Weather History
March 5th

1966: A powerful blizzard finally ends in the Upper Midwest. Some wind gusts from the storm topped 100 mph.

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Inclement weather will be possible from coast to coast on Saturday. A messy Spring system in the central U.S. will bring storms, snow, and icing concerns. Meanwhile, record highs will be possible from the Central Plains to the Southeast.

The heaviest snow will fall out in the mountains of the western United States through Sunday, with a foot expected in some locations. Several inches of snow will also be possible across portions of the upper Midwest and northern Maine. Rain of at least 1-3" will be possible in the central United States and southern California.

Apostle Island ice caves viewing a no-go this year

More from the Star Tribune: "With plenty of freezing days this winter, hopes were high for a chance to trek out to the shimmering Apostle Islands mainland ice caves. But low ice cover and strong northwesterly winds that bashed dangerous ice shards into the caves mean viewing the natural phenomenon from Lake Superior will likely wait at least another year. The last time the caves were accessible from the lake was 2015, when 17,000 winter enthusiasts made the two-mile roundtrip ice hike. "There has been an incredible amount of wind," said Julie Van Stappen, spokeswoman for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore."

European Energy Giants Still Dominate Future of Offshore Wind in US

More from NBC Philadelphia: "A group led by two American companies shelled out $645 million last week for the future development rights of an offshore wind farm off the New Jersey coast. Invenergy Wind Offshore LLC, which is a partnership led by Chicago-based Invenergy and New York-based energyRe, now owns the rights to 84,000 acres where company officials believe 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy can be harnessed using turbines larger than the Washington Monument. ... Despite the Invenergy group's win, the federal auction proved that European energy giants still dominate the burgeoning offshore wind industry. The other five leases up for auction were grabbed by companies based in Spain, Great Britain, France and Germany."

Erthos rakes in $17M to install solar panels directly on the ground

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

- D.J. Kayser