Maybe if I put the parka on over my shorts I'll be OK? Wednesday's 60-degree warmth seems like a meteorological mirage. Blame a low sun angle. The northern hemisphere has caught a cold — the first real sneeze of Canadian air spinning up an intense storm today.
A tight pressure gradient causes air to accelerate into a partial vacuum (the center of low pressure) at speeds as high as 50-55 mph over western Minnesota, creating white-out conditions. I'd think twice about driving toward the Dakotas, unless you're a fan of white-knuckle driving.
The axis of heaviest snow, 8-12 inches or more, runs from Windom to Wadena to Walker — into the Minnesota Arrowhead. ECMWF guidance prints out 6 inches or so for St. Cloud, Brainerd and Duluth; maybe a sloppy inch or two for the Twin Cities, where snow will melt on contact until late afternoon today. Consider this payback for the warmest start to November on record, statewide.
Skies clear over the weekend with a little rain next Tuesday, but dry on Thanksgiving with highs in the low 40s.
