Christmas rainstorm winding down

Two days of widespread rain is something we don’t see in Minnesota in late December very often. Amounts have been impressive for his time of year.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport measured 1.6 inches of rain. St. Cloud picked up almost 2.4 inches while parts of central Minnesota got around 3 inches. Fortunately, the ground isn’t frozen in most areas so the rain soaked in to where it could be useful and did not run off or flood.

Rain has been tapering and ending from southeast to northwest across much of Minnesota on Tuesday. Some light rain and mixed precipitation continues across northern Minnesota. 

A winter weather advisory has been extended until midnight (the end of Tuesday) for northwestern Minnesota for snow and freezing rain.

And a winter weather advisory continues Tuesday night until 6 a.m. on Wednesday for north central and northeastern Minnesota where cooling overnight temperatures could increase the spotty freezing rain coverage and cause ice buildup.

Turning cooler

You might have noticed that our string of record warmth has ended. Cooler air has swept around the west side of this massive storm in a clockwise spin that took it to Iowa and then north into and across Minnesota.

The Twin Cities were a balmy 50 degrees at 3 a.m. Tuesday just before the colder air arrived It had dropped to 36 by 7 a.m. and is 34 and closing in on freezing at 5 p.m.

Leftover Wednesday

The trudging storm system will begin to slide eastward tomorrow and spray Minnesota with just scraps of leftover rain and snow showers. High temperatures will be mainly in the 50s.

The forecast high for the Twin Cities of the mid 30s is still about ten degrees cooler than normal for late December.

Dry, pleasant Thursday and Friday

Thursday and Friday look like the best days of the week. The sun will return gradually, especially on Friday. High temperatures should be in the 20s across the far north and 30s elsewhere in the state and western Wisconsin.

Weekend looks drama-free

The weekend looks quiet and cooler, with just a chance of light snow on Sunday from a weak Alberta clipper. High temperatures are likely to be from the low 20s northwest to the mid 30s southeast on Saturday. Sunday should be a touch cooler with highs mostly in the 20s.

Seasonal outlook to begin 2024

Based on the air masses and flow patterns likely over the next three months, the Seasonal Temperature Outlook for January-February-March is for a good chance of temperatures averaging warmer than average across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The precipitation/snowfall outlook is more of a coin toss, as usual.