Slick Roads Possible Saturday Due To Some Snow

Forecast loop between 6 PM Friday and Midnight Saturday Night.

While snow will already be impacting northwestern Minnesota Friday Night, a band of light to moderate snow will move across the state as we head through late Friday Night into Saturday. In many areas outside of northwestern Minnesota, the snow will only last for about 3-6 hours. In the metro, this snow looks to move in during the mid-morning hours, lasting into the early evening.

Snow totals Friday through the weekend.

The heaviest snow with this system will be in northwestern Minnesota where there is a more prolonged period of snowfall from Friday into early Saturday (and better forcing with the system). In these areas, snowfall of 2-4" will be possible. 0.5-2" can generally be expected in western and southern Minnesota - including the Twin Cities and St. Cloud areas. No matter what, slick roads can be expected for any travel on Saturday, so allow yourself extra time to get to and from places.

So we'll watch that period of snow moving in during the mid-morning hours here in the metro, lasting through the afternoon. Temperatures will remain pretty steady in the low to mid-30s throughout the day.

Those snow chances exist across much of the state on Saturday with that band moving west to east. Otherwise, mainly cloudy skies can be expected. Highs will generally be in the 30s across Minnesota but may touch the low 40s along the North Shore.

Breezy winds can be expected throughout the day, increasing to around 30 mph by the late afternoon hours in the metro. Gusts to around 40 mph are possible along the North Shore and in western Minnesota. This will cause at least some minor blowing snow issues.

Looking ahead:

Sunday: Sunshine returns to the metro with highs more typical of the mid-December timeframe in the low 30s. It won't be as breezy either, even though we'll be under the influence of northwesterly winds.

Monday: The beginning of a new work week brings slightly warmer air back in with highs in the mid/upper 30s. Most of the day will feature sunshine, but some clouds will work back in late in the day.

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After we get past the precipitation chance this weekend in the metro, quiet weather returns through most of next week. Another shot of cooler air moves in for Tuesday before southwest winds return, boosting us into the 40s for the second part of the week. Some models are trying to show some rain/snow showers Friday or Friday Night - far too out there to know specifics or whether the chance will even materialize.

Slick Roads Possible Today Due To Some Snow
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

I was on the North Shore earlier this week, and it's just as brown up there as it is down here. Feels weird not being able to snowshoe in early December! While MSP is over 6" below average so far this snow season, Duluth is already 17" below average!

A several-hour burst of snow will move in today, dumping enough in the metro (~1", isolated 2") to coat everything white for a few days and cause some slick roads with 30 mph gusts. Cold sunshine returns Sunday with low 30s for highs. Another glancing blow of cooler air moves in Tuesday, but what snow does fall today will melt away next week with 40s returning mid/late week.

Long range? Some models show maybe a hint of snow around the solstice, but too far away to get excited about - let alone to even pencil into your calendar. Will we really be dreaming about a white Christmas this year? Stay tuned.

Sunsets are at the earliest they ever are in the metro - stuck at 4:31 PM through December 14th. Light will start to return very slowly to the evenings over the next few months.

D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SATURDAY: A few snowy hours. Breezy. Temps steady in the low/mid-30s. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind NW 10-25 mph.

SUNDAY: Clouds to start, sunny afternoon. Wake up 22. High 32. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Dry with clouds sneaking in late. Wake up 19. High 39. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 5-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Shot of cooler air. Sun/cloud mix. Wake up 21. High 31. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

THURSDAY: Breezy but pleasant. Average high: 29F. Wake up 29. High 46. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY: Cloudy with isolated rain showers. Wake up 32. High 40. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind W 5-10 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 9th

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 52 minutes, and 17 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 0 seconds

This Day in Weather History
December 9th

2003: Significant snow with amounts between 6 to 10 inches falls from southwest Minnesota across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and into west central Wisconsin. Winds across the area were 25 to 30 mph, with blowing and drifting snow in open areas. Although some parts of far south central Minnesota only picked up 4 to 6 inches, winds in this area were a little stronger, creating near-blizzard conditions. The greatest snowfall totals occurred in the Twin Cities metro, where Chaska, Chanhassen and New Hope all picked up 11 inches. Ten inches were recorded at Lamberton, Springfield and Gaylord. There was a sharp cutoff on the northern edge of the snow; Lamberton in southernmost Redwood County tallied 10 inches, while 25 miles to the north at Belview in far northern Redwood County, only 2 inches was recorded. Rockford, straddling the Hennepin/Wright County line, received 6 inches, whereas Buffalo, 10 miles to the northwest in central Wright County, only received 1 inch.

1995: The passage of a strong low pressure system on the 8th leads to wind chill readings of 50 to 75 below as strong northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph ushered significantly colder air across the region. The dangerously cold wind chill readings persisted through the morning of the 9th.

1961: A snowstorm hits central Minnesota. Mora gets about a foot.

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Two pockets of heavy precipitation are expected through the weekend: one in the Pacific Northwest (where it'll fall as snow in the higher elevations) and another in the Southeast. In both these areas, liquid precipitation over 3" is possible.

A few feet of snow could accumulate through the weekend up in the Cascades, with a few inches of snow working their way into the Northern Plains.

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- D.J. Kayser