Seasonal weather whiplash ahead: Snow and 60 degrees in the next week?

Get ready for a ride on the Minnesota Zephyr.

A fast-moving west-to-east weather pattern brings rapid and dramatic weather changes over the next two weeks.

We bottom out Friday night across Minnesota with a more typical February air mass. Lows will hover near zero in parts of northern Minnesota early Saturday morning. Temperatures in the teens will chill the south. (See the map above.)

Brisk southwesterly winds Saturday begin to blow milder air into Minnesota. It won’t feel that warm with the breeze, but highs will reach the 40s again in the Twin Cities with 50s moving into western Minnesota Saturday afternoon.

By Sunday, winds subside and temperatures will feel even milder.

A shot at 60 degrees on Monday?

Monday brings the core of another unseasonably mild to near-record warm air mass. Highs in the 60s look likely for much of southern Minnesota Monday afternoon.

Tuesday brings a big change as a powerful cold front cuts into northwestern Minnesota. On the map below, check out the major temperature contrast across Minnesota from northwest to southeast Tuesday.

Snow chance?

It looks like there will be enough moisture behind Tuesday’s cold front to drop some snow across much of Minnesota.

The air will be much colder again behind Tuesday's front.

Another shot at 60 degrees?

March appears ready to blow in like a baby lamb this year. Another shot of near-record air looks likely. Highs could reach the 50s to 60s once again.

Stick a fork in winter?

The temperature outlook well into March favors more of the same across Minnesota and the Great Lakes.

I still have a hunch we could see a last-gasp snow event in late March or early April. But overall it looks like what passes for winter in Minnesota is missing in action this year.

Stay tuned.