The National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen, MN issued an update early this morning that affects residents in the central and southern parts of Minnesota, as well as parts of west central Wisconsin. According to the forecast, Minneapolis will see mostly cloudy skies today with highs hovering around 45 degrees and light east southeast wind. But as night falls, the weather is expected to take a turn with a 40% chance of rain before midnight, eventually giving way to a mix of rain and snow into the early hours—transforming wholly into snow after 5 a.m. This information comes directly from the National Weather Service's latest publication.
The outlook doesn’t get much brighter as we head into Tuesday—a scant 20 percent chance of snow lingers before 9 a.m., followed by partly sunny skies and a high near 42. The conditions will repeat in a cycle of cloudy nights and mid-40-degree days through the rest of the week, likely culminating in a mixed bag of precipitation over Thursday. A slight chance of rain comes back into play Wednesday night after midnight, and again on Thursday with a 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon. Temperatures are expected to peak near 50 but will dip at night to around 30, so if you’re out late, layering remains the name of the game, as usual.
The Hazardous Weather Outlook warns of a wintry mix transitioning to all snow on Tuesday morning, which might lead to some accumulation. Again, these wintry conditions appear poised to affect areas along and south of I-94, but it's a forecast worth noting for morning commuters or anyone planning to travel by road.
While the immediate outlook suggests brushing off the snow boots, the longer-range forecast indicates we're not quite locked into the deep freeze yet. From Friday onward, we can expect mostly sunny days with highs in the mid-40s and partial cloud cover at night. Sunday looks to be the most promising in terms of catching a few rays with a forecast high near 49, an easy reprieve before we settle into the week. Spotters and snowfall observers across the affected regions are being encouraged to report snowfall amounts to the National Weather Service, ensuring that we all get the most accurate picture of what old man winter has in store for us.
