Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

A bright day for most of Minnesota; snowstorm hits Virginia and North Carolina

Sunday will be the brighter day of the weekend in the Twin Cities metro area.

I imagine that some folks will have to rummage around a bit to find their sunglasses, which have rarely been needed in recent weeks!

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have plenty of Sunday sunshine, with some patchy clouds at times.

Temperature trends

Minnesota's Sunday afternoon highs will be mainly in the 20s, but a few spots in the Twin Cities metro area could touch 30 degrees.

Our average high temp is 29 degrees this time of year in the Twin Cities metro area.

Monday highs will be in the 20s in most areas, with some lower 30s in southwestern Minnesota:

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I wouldn't be surprised if a few spots in the metro area touch 30 on Monday.

Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to be around 30 on Tuesday, followed by lower 30s on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Some of our snow cover will melt by next weekend, so you might want to get your sledding/cross country skiing in today.

Snow chances

There’s a chance of light snow showers in Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern on Wednesday:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar for Wednesday, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow or rain.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

A few light snow showers are also possible Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Winter storm for Virginia and North Carolina

Roughly the northwestern half of North Carolina, and much of Virginia, will see heavy snow today into tonight. Some areas will also see freezing rain.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday morning through Monday morning:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar Sunday morning through Monday morning, via tropicaltidbits

Blue areas in the loop indicate snow, green areas are rain.

Many spots in North Carolina had already receive half a foot of snow by Sunday morning, with more on the way:

Some areas will see 14 to 19 inches of snow:

Many locations in southwestern Virginia will see double digit snow totals.

Here’s a summary of southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina warnings and potential snow amounts this weekend:

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NWS Blacksburg, Virginia

Check with your airline if your travel plans include North Carolina or Virginia today or tonight.

You can get updates on the winter storm from the NWS offices in Raleigh, North Carolina and Blacksburg, Virginia.

Some spots in the northern part of South Carolina will also see some freezing rain.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.