Mostly Quiet End Of Week Travel Weather - Snow Chance Christmas Day

Officially 0.6" of snow fell Tuesday at the Twin Cities airport from the system that moved through the region, but heavier totals fell as you went north - particularly along portions of the North Shore. A foot of snow was reported near Hovland with 11" in Grand Portage.

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With the new 1991-2020 climatological data in place, the probability of a white Christmas map has been updated! Here's a look nationwide at that probability, and you can view an interactive map to see your local probability by clicking here. Remember a white Christmas is classified as there being at least 1" of snow on the ground. With the new climate data, the Twin Cities historically has a 74% chance of a white Christmas, increasing to 77% in St. Cloud and 92% in Duluth. Rochester has a 66% chance historically and Mankato has a 69% chance.

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If your holiday travels start to take you out of town on Thursday, we currently have little to no concerns in the forecast. Some models are showing a very slight chance of a few snowflakes or freezing precipitation in the early morning hours, but most of the day should be dry and sunny. Morning temperatures will be in the low to mid-20s with highs in the upper 30s.

There will be a better chance of snowflakes across northern Minnesota as we head through the morning and midday hours Thursday, with up to 2" possible in northwestern portions of the state. Sunnier skies are expected as you head south. Temperatures range from the 20s up north to the low 40s in southwestern Minnesota.

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Temperatures will be chilly as Santa makes his rounds Friday Night, and as you wake up Saturday it'll range from below zero in northwestern Minnesota to the 20s in southeastern Minnesota.

For your Christmas Day, we are watching the potential of snow! A system looks to bring snow into western Minnesota by the midday hours, moving into the metro by the mid-afternoon timeframe. This snow will move out Saturday Night. Some models indicate the potential of at least 2" in some locations, but there is a lot of uncertainty in the overall precipitation forecast from this weekend into early next week so it'll be something to keep an eye on the next several days if you have travel plans over that timeframe.

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Antidote to Winter Blues: Play Outside
By Paul Douglas

Winters are warming, but Minnesota's Frostbite Season is still intimidating to most of the planet. My new daughter in law grew up in New Mexico - she's moving here with our youngest son, who is giving her tips on appropriate winter gear.

Thawing temperatures arrive today and Christmas Eve with a shot at a little ice this morning and 40 degrees Christmas Eve.

A coating of snow Saturday gives way to a more impressive system Sunday into Monday; maybe a few inches of snowy fun by Monday morning. A few more snow events are likely next week, and some models print out 10-20" of new snow for central and northern Minnesota by New Year's Day.

No, cold fronts have not been canceled. The first subzero lows of winter are possible by New Year's Eve at MSP. Bring it.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

FRIDAY: Passing rain shower, milder. Wake up 32. High 41. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind W 8-13 mph.

SATURDAY: Light PM show, coating possible. Wake up 18. High 24. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind N 7-12 mph.

SUNDAY: Heavier snow arrives late PM hours. Wake up 13. High 29. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind E 10-20 mph.

MONDAY: Flurries taper, tumbling temperatures. Wake up 14. High 19. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind W 15-25 mph.

TUESDAY: Potential for more snow. Wake up 10. High 24. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind E 10-20 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 23rd

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 46 minutes, and 21 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 7 seconds

*When Do We See 9 Hours Of Daylight: January 9th (9 hours, 0 minutes, 29 seconds)
*Latest Sunrises Before We Start Gaining Morning Light: 7:51 AM between December 30th and January 5th
*Next Sunset At/After 5 PM: January 17th (5:00 PM)

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1996: Heavy snow accumulates across much of southern and central Minnesota. Snowfall totals included 6 to 8 inches across the Twin Cities metro area, 10 inches in Jordan, 8 inches at Cambridge, Forest Lake, Hutchinson and Montevideo, and 6 inches at St. Cloud, Glenwood and Redwood Falls.

1983: The Twin Cities experience a bitterly cold high of 17 degrees below zero.

1833: A 'warm spell' is reported at Ft. Snelling. The temperature reached 45 degrees.

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A mess of weather will continue out in the western United States as we head through Thursday with rain and snow and even a few thunderstorms. We will also be tracking some snow and mixed precipitation from northern Minnesota to the Great Lakes and into portions of the Northeast.

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A record 20.73 inches of rain fell in a day during extreme Tennessee floods, report shows

More from the Nashville Tennessean: "A record-shattering 20.73 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in Humphreys County, triggering extreme floods that killed 20 people on Aug. 21, officials said. The National Weather Service Nashville confirmed the total on Monday. Early estimates topped out rainfall at 17.03 inches in Humphreys County that day, but further investigation into a measurement at a wastewater treatment plant in McEwen revealed the new record-high total, NWS meteorologist Krissy Hurley said. She also said it is the highest 24-hour rainfall record for any state not touching an ocean."

A perfectly preserved dinosaur egg highlights link to modern birds

More from NBC News: "A 66-million-year-old fossil of a complete baby dinosaur in its egg, apparently just a few days before it would have hatched, shows the remarkable similarities between theropod dinosaurs and the birds they would evolve into, according to a study published Tuesday. The fossilized bones of the embryo, named "Baby Yingliang" after the museum in southern China where it was discovered, can be seen curled up inside its 6-inch elongated eggshell and looking almost exactly like a modern bird at that stage, although it has tiny arms and claws rather than wings. Fion Waisum Ma, a paleontologist at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, said the head is particularly striking in its similarity to the head of a newly hatched bird — a resemblance heightened by a beak that was a feature of the dinosaur species, called oviraptorosaur. Ma is one of the lead authors of the fossil study published in the journal iScience. Scientists from China, Canada and elsewhere in the U.K. were also involved."

More from CNN: "Multiple independent analyses have found President Joe Biden simply can't hit his goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 50% by the end of the decade without the clean energy provisions in Build Back Better, the President's signature economic and climate legislation. After West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin torpedoed the bill, experts say these goals are ever more out of reach — with devastating consequences. "Without this bill we really don't have a plan to tackle the climate crisis in the US," said Leah Stokes, a senior policy adviser at Evergreen Action and climate expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "Cutting carbon pollution 50-52% is a really big goal, it's what's necessary, but it's not going to happen without significant federal investments.""

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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