A foggy start to the weekend; Rain chances increase Saturday evening & overnight

We have moist air and light winds. That’s the recipe for the thick fog that blankets Minnesota and Iowa plus much of Wisconsin Saturday morning.

A dense fog advisory includes Minnesota and Iowa plus much of Wisconsin until 11 a.m. this Saturday:

Here are details of the dense fog advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 226 AM CST Sat Dec 23 2023 MNZ041>045-047>059-064>068-073>075-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-231700- /O.CON.KMPX.FG.Y.0023.000000T0000Z-231223T1700Z/ Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stevens-Pope-Stearns- Benton-Sherburne-Isanti-Chisago-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa- Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Yellow Medicine-Renville-McLeod-Sibley- Carver-Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Waseca-Steele- Martin-Faribault-Freeborn-Polk-Barron-Rusk- Including the cities of Morris, Rice Lake, St James, Glenwood, Montevideo, Sauk Rapids, Albert Lea, Mora, Victoria, Mankato, Hutchinson, Princeton, Owatonna, Osceola, Benson, Waseca, Gaylord, Redwood Falls, Cambridge, New Ulm, Litchfield, St Peter, St Cloud, Madison, Fairmont, Ladysmith, Elk River, Blue Earth, Granite Falls, Little Falls, Olivia, Long Prairie, Chanhassen, Alexandria, Chaska, Center City, Monticello, and Willmar 226 AM CST Sat Dec 23 2023 ...DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM CST THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, southwest, and west central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. * WHEN...Until 11 AM CST this morning. * IMPACTS...Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Warm weather continues

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 26 degrees on Dec. 23. Metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 40s to around 50 this Saturday.

Much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Saturday highs in the 40s:

Far northwestern Minnesota could have some upper 30s, and some spots in the south could top 50.

Rain chances

A low pressures system will deliver some rain showers to parts of southwestern Minnesota late Saturday afternoon, then rain coverage expands across much of Minnesota Saturday evening and overnight Saturday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Saturday through 5 a.m. Sunday:

NOAA’s High Resolution Rapid-Refresh model shows a similar rain pattern during that time frame:

Update

A new Updraft will be posted around 10:40 a.m. today. It will include info on our weather for Sunday and Christmas Day.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.