Some Light Snow Chances Through Midweek

Monday forecast loop from Midnight to Noon.

The first half of this week will be peppered by light snow and even some light freezing drizzle chances. The initial one moves through on Monday, with some morning light snow or freezing drizzle across southern Minnesota, mainly south of the metro. During this time, some light snow will also be possible up across northern Minnesota.

Snow totals are expected to be light - maybe up to a half inch - from this snow as it moves through southern and northern Minnesota on Monday. Any freezing drizzle across southern Minnesota is likely to be on the light side - but any that does occur could cause slick conditions.

Between those two light batches of precipitation, we'll see mostly cloudy skies throughout much of the day - but there should be some peeks of sun. Highs will be in the teens and 20s - 5-15F degrees below average.

In the metro, we'll keep a very, very slight chance of seeing some light snow around in the morning hours, but again, the best chance of that will be to the south of the metro. Otherwise, a mix of sun and clouds to mostly cloudy skies are expected. Morning lows begin in the mid-teens with highs in the low to mid-20s. However, it'll feel like the teens in the afternoon due to northerly winds at 5-10 mph.

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Tuesday forecast loop from 6 AM to 6 PM.

Wednesday forecast loop from 6 AM to 6 PM.

Another little batch of light snow could move through central Minnesota mainly during the Wednesday morning hours, with generally under 1.5" expected (the heaviest totals out in western Minnesota where the snow lingers longer through the early morning hours).

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Highs generally will remain below to around average as we head through the work week - in the 20s and 30s. Certainly better than what we saw on Saturday!

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Fairly Quiet Week Of Weather Ahead
By Paul Douglas

"Comparison is the death of joy" said Teddy Roosevelt. Which means I have fairly joyless gig, because meteorologists are always comparing current weather with "normals" and what happened in previous years.

Minnesota's cold weather tax came a little early this year. A year ago we started December with 2 days above 50F, then picked up 11" snow in the metro on December 10, followed by 58F on December 15 - along with a wild derecho that spawned 94 tornadoes, including the first December tornadoes on record in Minnesota (9 were reported in MN). I'm exhausted just reliving this.

No drama or crazy swings in sight, just a fairly quiet week with a few minor nuisance snow events, while weather systems stay north (and south) of Minnesota.

Deep thought: there has never been a day with weather IDENTICAL to today. Or tomorrow. And this winter won't resemble last winter either.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy, cool breeze. Wake up 23. High 27. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

TUESDAY: More clouds than sun. Wake up 9. High 28. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny and quiet. Wake up 9. High 28. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Snow may stay south. Wake up 14. High 27. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NE 7-12 mph.

SATURDAY: Chance of light snow developing. Wake up 18. High 30. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind SE 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: Flurries taper, risk of a brief thaw. Wake up 28. High 33. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SW 7-12 mph.

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*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 56 minutes, and 27 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 16 seconds

*Shortest Daylight Of The Year: December 21st (8 hours, 46 minutes, 10 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise: December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*Earliest Sunset: December 5th-December 13th (4:31 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
December 5th

2001: An unseasonably warm December day occurs, with a high of 63 degrees at the Twin Cities. Summer-like thunderstorms developed and dropped quarter-sized hail at the Eyota Post Office in Olmsted County.

1928: Canby receives three inches of snow or greater for the third consecutive day.

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A very active Monday is expected to begin the work week, with several areas of showers, storms, and snow across the lower 48. Parts of the central and southern Plains as well as northern New England will have the greatest odds of completely dry weather as we head through the day.

Heavy snow will fall out in the western mountains through Tuesday, with feet possible in the Sierra. The heaviest rain will be in the Deep South, with 3"+ possible.

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More from Canary Media: "Work has begun on a high-profile transmission project that will funnel clean power directly into New York City. On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the start of construction on the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line, after the project's developer reached an agreement with labor union leaders. The buried cables will deliver 1,250 megawatts of hydropower from Canadian utility Hydro-Québec, beginning beneath Lake Champlain, moving underground near Schenectady and Albany, then running below the Hudson River until eventually connecting to a new converter station in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens."

Pawpaws, America's latest fruit craze, are being threatened by climate change

More from Grist: "Every September for the last 25 years, thousands of people have descended on a field in southeast Ohio to celebrate North America's largest edible native tree fruit: the pawpaw. With custard-yellow flesh that tastes like a cross between a mango and a banana, pawpaws are eaten raw, worked into sauces and chutneys, or brewed into beer at the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, a celebration of both the fruit's flavor and its history in Appalachia. This year, more people than ever before came to learn about the plant, crowding around a cooking demonstration to watch local chefs craft a pawpaw salsa and even buying seedlings to plant in their backyards. A few dozen gathered under a white tent to hear Brian Koscho, an Ohio-based artist and creator of an Appalachian history podcast, talk about the Indigenous roots of the plant. Pawpaws, he said, have an "impact both here in this area, but also far, far beyond.""

Heat pumps are the 'central technology' for low-carbon heating, concludes IEA

More from Carbon Brief: "Heat pumps will provide one-fifth of the world's heating needs by the end of the decade if nations follow through on their plans, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its first global assessment of these electrical devices, the agency says they have emerged as "the central technology in the global transition to secure and sustainable heating". Switching from gas boilers and other fossil fuels to heat pumps is expected to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the output of Canada by 2030, the IEA concludes. Sales have already been surging, particularly in Europe, amid inflated global gas prices. They are set to reach record levels this year as many EU nations hand out incentives designed to cut their reliance on gas imported from Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser