Sunny But Cooler Friday

Friday will be a bit cooler than what we've seen the past couple of days as we'll be behind a cold front that brought us snow late Thursday into Thursday night. Morning temperatures will start off in the mid-teens with highs climbing into the low 20s. While skies will start off cloudy in the early morning hours, we should see sunny skies by the afternoon.

A mix of sun and clouds to mainly sunny skies are expected Friday across the state, with highs in the teens and 20s. These highs - for the most part - will be around average for the second to last day of the year.

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30s For New Year's Weekend

Saturday marks the last day of 2022 - and we will watch the potential for some light snow across portions of the state, including the metro. Any accumulation should be light as highs climb into the low 30s. We'll also be in the low 30s for highs on Sunday - the first day of 2023 - with mainly cloudy skies.

If you're heading out to celebrate the new year Saturday evening, temperatures will be in the upper 20s and low 30s as we count down under mainly cloudy skies. It'll feel more like the low to mid-20s, though, with winds of 5-10 mph.

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System Early Next Week?

As mentioned yesterday, we are tracking the potential for another large winter storm next week in the Monday through Wednesday timeframe. There continues to be a lot of spread in the overall track between the models:

  • The American model shows a more northern track, which would bring snow and ice chances across central and northern Minnesota, with rain across southern Minnesota before a little change over would be possible toward the end of the storm.
  • The European model shows a more southern track, bringing the snow and ice chances across southern Minnesota with little to no precipitation north.
  • What is confident is that a large system will impact the upper Midwest somewhere. Models also seem to somewhat agree on timing - with precipitation starting to impact the state Monday midday/afternoon, ending Tuesday night into early Wednesday. The area where this storm impacts - and what that means for precipitation type and how much snow/ice a location may see - is still in question. We will continue to monitor this as we head through the next several days.

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December Snow (Through Wednesday)

It has been quite a snowy December across the state, with all climate locations running above average for the month. In the Twin Cities (through Wednesday) the 19.4" marks the 12th snowiest month-to-date on record. St. Cloud is at their 4th snowiest month-to-date, meanwhile Duluth is at their 2nd snowiest.

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Cool And Quiet Into New Year's Weekend
By Paul Douglas

It's almost as if Old Man Winter is trying to atone for last week's blistering arctic outbreak and ground blizzards. We often see a January Thaw that lingers for a few days. This year we'll enjoy a longer intermission from windchill, possibly into the first 7-10 days of January. Consider this halftime. There will be a second half of snow, wind and groan-worthy wind chills.

No polar air is imminent, but a shot of cooler, drier air scrubs away a canopy of gray today with sunshine and low 20s later. Another thaw arrives New Year's Eve with peeks of sun. Unlike Christmas, I see no weather drama close to home over New Year's weekend.

Weather models are wildly divergent on the system coming in early next week. NOAA's models predict a foot of snow for the Dakotas and Red River Valley while the ECMWF (European) is forecasting a foot of snow for far southern Minnesota. Confidence levels are very low, but a few inches can't be ruled out in the metro by Tuesday. No polar pain. Blizzard-free! That's progress.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

FRIDAY: Partly sunny, chilly. Wake up 15. High 25. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 3-8 mph.

SATURDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, quiet. Wake up 20. High 34. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy and dry. Wake up 19. High 31. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: A little snow PM hours. Wake up 24. High 28. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: Steadier snow possible. Wake up 20. High 26. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind N 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Peeks of sun, drying out. Wake up 19. High 23. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind N 10-15 mph.

THURSDAY: Blue sky, light winds. Wake up 15. High 21. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 30th

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 49 minutes, and 19 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 40 seconds

*When do we see 9 Hours of Daylight?: January 9th (9 hours, 0 minutes, 8 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise: December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*When is Sunset at/after 5 PM?: January 17th (5:00 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
December 30th

2005: A large swath of snowfall in the 6 to 8 inch range falls approximately north of a line from Madison to Redwood Falls through Glencoe and Woodbury. Even heavier snowfall occurred west of a Granite Falls to Willmar line, where reports of between 8 and 11 inches were recorded. In Willmar, several vehicles were reported stuck in ditches. A semi-truck also rolled onto its side.

1996: 6 to 7 inches of snow falls in Willmar. The new snowfall, in addition to previous heavy snowfall, caused a portion of the historical society's roof to collapse.

1980: A 'heat wave' develops across Minnesota. Redwood Falls hits 51.

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National Weather Forecast

Two system are impacting the lower 48 as we head through the second-to-last day of 2022. Out west, an atmospheric river will bring heavy rain and snow to the region. Meanwhile, a second working eastward will bring rain chances from New England to the lower Mississippi Valley.

Very heavy rainfall (potentially 5"+) will be possible through the end of the year out across parts of Oregon and California, with several feet of snow possible in the Sierra. Heavy rain of at least 3" will also impact portions of the mid/lower Mississippi Valley.

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Southwest Workers Say They Suffered Frostbite During 16-Hour Shifts

More from Gizmodo: "As angry as passengers have been during this past week of delayed and canceled flights, lost luggage, and being stranded far away from friends and family during Christmas, that was apparently nothing compared to what Southwest Airline ground crew workers experienced, according to a union letter claiming some workers developed frostbite during 16-hour shifts where they were exposed to sub-zero temperatures for extended periods. The Transport Workers Union of America Local 555 claims to represent 17,000 Southwest Airlines ground crew workers. On Wednesday, TWU Local 555 President Randy Barnes said in a release that a good chunk of their members were working 16- to 18-hour shifts this holiday season. Some were getting sick, and he said some experienced frostbite during the incredibly cold temperatures seen this past week."

The Climate Struggle Literally Hit Home in 2022

More from WIRED: "A YEAR AGO, I lambasted politicians for missing a huge opportunity for climate action. Recovering from pandemic lockdowns, the United States could have juiced the green economy to reduce emissions and prepare the country for the ravages of climate change. Yet even though the Democrats controlled the whole federal government … crickets. The winter of early 2022 passed, and then the spring. But July brought a legislative miracle, as President Joe Biden announced a surprise deal on the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation's biggest-ever investment in climate mitigation. If 2021 was a huge missed opportunity, 2022 was a huge turnaround. "I feel a lot more heartened about climate change now than I ever have," says Jonathan Foley, executive director of the nonprofit Project Drawdown, which advocates for climate action. "We're a lot less screwed than we would have been. And I'll take that as kind of encouragement—a little more wind in the sails. Like, Hey, wait a minute, things are really starting to pivot.""

How did the US nuclear industry fare in 2022?

More from Canary Media: "The U.S. nuclear power market continued to sputter in 2022 as it faced regulatory, technical and financial setbacks — despite solid support from the federal government. This mirrors the global nuclear scene; plant closings and construction delays have resulted in nuclear falling to just 9.8 percent of global power generation in 2021, its lowest level since the 1980s, according to the World Nuclear Industry 2022 annual report. The United States generates more nuclear power than any other country in the world, with about 95 gigawatts of capacity, followed by China, but construction of new plants has been plagued by cost and schedule overruns, as well as an inability to keep up with the plunging costs of natural gas and renewable energy sources."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser