Stronger March sunshine, milder temperatures and melting snow ahead

Cue the big melt.

Up to a foot of fresh snow will begin to melt in the coming days around much of Minnesota.

If this snow fell in November or December, we’d be hunkering down for a few months of likely continuous snow cover under a low winter sun. But things are different now in early March.

A rising sun angle is putting twice as much solar energy into Minnesota as we saw in late December, and milder Pacific air masses are ready to blow into Minnesota once again.

Our stubborn cement-like snow won’t budge easily, but it’s no match for what’s to come in the next week.

Thursday dawns like a frigid January morning around Minnesota with temperatures in the single digits and teens, but watch how shades of milder green and eventually yellow pulse eastward into Minnesota over the next few days.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model temperatures loop below runs between 6 a.m. Thursday and noon next Monday.

Highs Thursday afternoon will approach 40 degrees with a stronger March sun. We’ll see water in the afternoon streets from melting snow.

The weekend brings highs deeper into the 40s into southern Minnesota.

By Monday, highs in the 60s will blossom west of the Twin Cities with 50s here.

So enjoy the snow. It is a passing fancy.