Tale of two forecasts: Wintry north, summery south on Friday
2 weekend storms to bring rain, sleet, snow to different parts of Minnesota
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Minnesota is about to remind us that March is one of the most erratic weather months of the year. In the next 48 hours, we’ll see temperatures near 80 degrees in the south, and plowable snow across parts of central and northern Minnesota.
Buckle up!
Instant summer Friday
Friday will be one of those days when Minnesotans may be walking around a little stunned. A warm weather stupor alert is in effect Friday afternoon. Highs across southern Minnesota will push 80 degrees in the south with 70s sliding right up to the greater Twin Cities.
The warm front will create a sharp temperatures contrast right across the Twin Cities form south to north. Temperatures well into the 70s may reach the southern Twin Cities. The far north metro may hover in the 60s or even 50s.
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You can see the wild temperature contrast on Friday’s high temperature map at the top of this post.
System No. 1 Friday
Friday’s low-pressure system will produce wintry weather across northern Minnesota. A mix of rain, sleet, and snow will work across northern Minnesota Friday.
On the map below, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NAM 3 km resolution model shows the wintry mix up north. Also note a few morning to midday showers possible from the Twin Cities north.
A few thunderstorms may bubble up along the cold front south of the Twin Cities Friday evening. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center lays out a marginal (low) risk for a severe storm Friday especially south of the Twin Cities:
Snow and ice accumulations up north through Saturday will range to several inches along the Canadian border.
System No. 2 Saturday into Sunday
Our second inbound system will bring rain and snow to different areas. In the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, it will stay as rain Saturday but be snow to the north.
The Canadian and European models show similar solutions with rain changing to snow in the greater Twin Cities area Saturday night into Sunday morning. The Canadian GEM model forecast loop below runs between noon Saturday and noon Sunday.
Snowfall accumulations through Sunday will favor a band of between 2 to more than 6 inches from central Minnesota to the North Shore.
Temperatures Saturday return to more wintry notes across Minnesota.
Our brief flirtation with summer Friday afternoon will be long gone by the weekend. Stay tuned as we continue to track our weekend weather systems.