Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Snow develops Friday night into Saturday

Cold air moves in early next week

snow y655
Forecast snowfall Friday night into Saturday
National Weather Service

Friday will be quiet with light winds and increasing clouds. Snow develops Friday night into Saturday followed by cold air early next week.

Significant snow for some develops Friday night into Saturday 

Temperatures will be close to normal across southern Minnesota Friday, mostly in the 20s with some low 30s in southwestern Minnesota. Northern Minnesota will be considerably colder with single digits in the northwest. Winds will also be light with increasing clouds. 

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Forecast highs Friday
National Weather Service

Snow develops Friday night in western Minnesota and will expand east. Expect snow much of Saturday for central Minnesota into western Wisconsin, mostly wrapping up by evening.

HRRR prec
Forecast precipitation 2 p.m. Friday through 2 p.m. Saturday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

A winter weather advisory is posted for Friday night into Saturday for much of central Minnesota into western Wisconsin. 

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Winter weather advisory 12 a.m. Friday night through 6 p.m. Saturday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

The heaviest snowfall will be across central Minnesota into western Wisconsin. Totals will drop off considerably north and south of the main track. 

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Forecast snowfall Friday night into Saturday
National Weather Service

A closer look at potential snowfall from a sort of weighted average of the forecast models shows the main axis of heavy snow north of the Twin Cities from roughly Alexandria through Little Falls, Pine City into northwest Wisconsin:

NBM snow
Forecast snowfall from a weighted average of models
NOAA, via WeatherBELL Analytics

Some of our high resolution, deterministic forecast models are hinting at dry air being sucked into the southern end of this system, meaning there could be a very sharp cutoff in snowfall totals south of the main heavy axis.

NAM 925 moisture
Relative humidity at 1,500 feet above the surface at 1 a.m. Saturday
WeatherBELL Analytics

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale model is the lowest of all forecasts for the Twin Cities as a result of this potential dry air intrusion:

NAM snow
North American Mesoscale forecast snowfall model (3km resolution)
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Behind the snow will come sunshine and colder air for Sunday. The coldest temperatures look to be Monday into Tuesday when overnight lows will be in the teens and 20s below zero in northern Minnesota with wind chill values approaching 30 to 40 below zero in the north Monday night. 

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Forecast lows Monday night
National Weather Service