Brandon Weatherz: Snow melts today and tomorrow, returns Thursday and Friday

We continue to monitor an impactful weather system later this week, but quiet conditions are with us today. Our Tuesday is off to chilly start with most heading out the door to subzero temps. High pressure is keeping dry air in place over the region, leading to this cold and clear morning. The high will continue to provide us with sunshine today, and as it exits to the southeast, a southerly wind will kick in behind it and give temperatures a boost. Highs climb into low to mid-30s today. Temperatures remain mild tonight in the 20s, then we push into upper 30s to mid-40s for our Wednesday under mostly cloudy skies.
Precipitation chances begin as rain and wintry mix in northern Minnesota Wednesday evening.

Wednesday night will then feature a split with snow in much of northern Minnesota and mostly rain for much of northwest Wisconsin. As of this morning, the track of the system has shifted south and east. This will bring colder air further south, meaning the transition from to snow will happen sooner, during the day Thursday. Widespread snow then continues Thursday night and Friday. Snow tapers off Friday night, exiting earlier than previously thought, due to the shift in track. The exception will be the South Shore of Lake Superior where lake effect snow will linger into Saturday morning.

There are still uncertainties in the track and precipitation type, leading to uncertainty in accumulation, particularly in northern Minnesota. 6-12” is still possible for much of the region including the Twin Ports. Confidence is high in the greatest impacts being along the South Shore of Lake Superior. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, and Iron Counties from 5 pm Thursday until 3 am Saturday because these are the areas that have the best chance at more than a foot of snow. The combination of heavy snow and winds gusting near 45 mph could lead to whiteout conditions here as well. Additional winter weather headlines will likely be issued for other parts of the Northland as confidence increases in snow amounts.

Today: Mostly sunny and breezy. High 32. SSW wind 10-15 mph.

Tonight: Increasing clouds. Low 24. SSW wind 5-15 mph.

Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy and mild. High 40. SSW 5-15 mph.

Tomorrow night: Cloudy with rain and snow showers in the evening, becoming all snow overnight. Low 30. NE wind 5-10 mph. Chance of precip: 70%. Accumulation less than an inch expected.

Thursday: Snowy and breezy. High 34. NNE wind 10-20 mph. Chance of snow: 80%. Accumulation of 1-3” expected.

Thursday night: Snowy and blustery. Low 17. NE wind 10-20 mph. Chance of snow: 70%. Accumulation of 1-3” expected.

Friday: Snow and breezy. High 23. N wind 10-20 mph. Chance of snow: 70%. Accumulation of 2-4” expected.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy and breezy. High 24. N wind 10-20 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. High 32. NW wind 5-15 mph. W wind 10-15 mph.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High 35. SSW wind 5-10 mph.