Snow For Christmas Day - Heavier Snow Possible Late Sunday Into Monday

To those who celebrate - Merry Christmas! As we head into Christmas Day Saturday we will be watching the chance of snow in the Twin Cities - mainly during the afternoon and evening hours. Morning temperatures will be in the teens as kids open up presents from Santa, with afternoon temperatures in the 20s (feeling more like the teens with a north 5-10 mph wind). That technical high of 26F may be set shortly after Midnight as Santa is making his rounds.

Here's how one of our forecast models is showing the snow moving in as we head through Christmas Day. Again for the Twin Cities, the best chance will be in the afternoon and evening hours, and it may begin in the afternoon with a touch of heavier snow. As of Friday morning, there was 1" of snow on the ground at MSP Airport - we would need that to hold on until Saturday morning for it to be officially a "white Christmas" as this snow would arrive too late in the day. As you can see this snow will impact many areas of central and northern Minnesota, so travel later in the day could be at least slightly impacted. (Loop above from 6 AM Saturday through Midnight Saturday Night.)

The heaviest snow amounts with this system will be up north from the Fargo area over to the north of Lake Mille Lacs, where a band of 2-4" could fall. Farther south, including the Twin Cities, less than an inch is expected.

So again for Christmas Day, we're tracking those snow chances moving in throughout the day across the state. Highs will range from the single digits up north to the 20s across southern Minnesota.

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Another storm system looks to impact the state as we head late Sunday into Sunday Night for any travelers heading home after the holiday, lingering into Monday. Across portions of southern Minnesota, a rain/snow mix or some freezing rain could mix in at times. Through Monday morning this could bring a 2-4" snowfall to areas like St. Cloud and the Twin Cities with better chances of around 6" from Fargo to the North Shore. We will also see gusty winds, which could lead to blowing and drifting snow. This snow will continue into Monday over the northern half of the state. (Loop above from Noon Sunday to Noon Monday.)

So the snow icons you see on the Sunday forecast look to be late in the day for the most part across the state with warmer temperatures vs. what we'll see on Christmas Day.

Another snow chance will move in Tuesday into Wednesday, and behind that will be a cold snap for the middle of the week. The coldest low so far this winter for the Twin Cities was 3F back on December 6th and 8th, and right now it looks like we could see our first below zero value as we head toward next Thursday morning.

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An Extra-Merry Christmas For Snow Lovers

By Paul Douglas

"Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows" wrote Edwin Osgood Grover. I hope Santa was good to you and yours on a day Christians celebrate a gift beyond compare. Hope is in short supply these days but no trial lasts forever. We will get through this, and have some crazy stories for our grandkids.

The first real blast of polar air arrives by midweek, preceded by potentially significant snow Tuesday. It's too early for inch amounts, but one word comes to mind. Plowable.

By the latter half of next week we'll see mostly single digits and teens for highs, with a few nights dipping below zero. Not hard to believe. Historically, the next 3-4 weeks are the coldest of the year. The snow is free and so are my wishes for a safe and joyous Christmas Day.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

CHRISTMAS DAY SATURDAY: Coating of snow PM hours. Wake up 17. High 23. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind NE 8-13 mph.

MONDAY: Snow tapers, PM clearing. Gusty. Wake up 12. High 17. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind W 20-40 mph.

TUESDAY: Plowable snow potential PM hours. Wake up 6. High 20. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind NE 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny, feels like winter again. Wake up -1. High 5. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 10-15 mph.

THURSDAY: Sunny peeks, a whiff of windchill. Wake up -6. High 4. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind E 7-12 mph.

FRIDAY: Few flakes, not as numb. Wake up 2. High 25. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 25th

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 46 minutes, and 51 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 17 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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This Day in Weather History
December 25th

1996: A strong low pressure system which deposited heavy snow over much of Minnesota on the 23rd, pulled extremely cold Canadian air southward over Minnesota. The cold remained entrenched through the 26th. Temperatures fell to 15 to 35 degrees below zero Christmas Day morning. The Twin Cities and St. Cloud set new record low temperatures both days. In addition, the high temperature on Christmas Day in the Twin Cities was only 9 degrees below zero. Combined with the record low temperature that morning of 22 below, the mean temperature for Christmas Day was 16 degrees below zero. This Christmas Day set a new record for being the coldest day on record for the Twin Cities metro area, going back to the year 1890 when modern day records began.

1922: People are golfing on Christmas in the Twin Cities as temperatures reach the 50s.

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For your Christmas Saturday across the nation, we will be watching rain and snow chances from the western United States across the northern tier of states into the Northeast. In portions of the upper Midwest and Northeast, some icing will be possible which could make roads slicker as you travel.

The heaviest rain and snow amounts will be out west through the Christmas holiday weekend, with the potential of several feet of snow at higher elevations.

Here's how to track Santa around the world, thanks to NORAD

More from CNN: "Santa Claus has packed his sleigh with toys for all the good girls and boys and he has made sure the reindeer are secured for takeoff. Now, they are traveling around the world to visit millions of households. While you are waiting to hear the jingle of bells in the air that means Santa is near, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has a tracking system to show the jolly man's progress worldwide. NORAD, which is responsible for protecting the skies over the United States and Canada, activates its Santa tracking system at 6 a.m. ET on Christmas Eve. People can follow Santa's journey around the world on NORAD's website or they can call the command center at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723)."

YSE Study Finds Electric Vehicles Provide Lower Carbon Emissions Through Additional Channels

More from Yale: "With new major spending packages investing billions of dollars in electric vehicles in the U.S., some analysts have raised concerns over how green the electric vehicle industry actually is, focusing particularly on indirect emissions caused within the supply chains of the vehicle components and the fuels used to power electricity that charges the vehicles. But a recent study from the Yale School of the Environment published in Nature Communications found that the total indirect emissions from electric vehicles pale in comparison to the indirect emissions from fossil fuel-powered vehicles. This is in addition to the direct emissions from combusting fossil fuels — either at the tailpipe for conventional vehicles or at the power plant smokestack for electricity generation — showing electric vehicles have a clear advantage emissions-wise over conventional vehicles."

New DOE office to help stand up clean energy projects

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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