Brandon Weatherz: Warmth ends after a wet Thursday

February 8: Warmth ends after a wet Thursday

Daily forecast from the Storm Track Weather Team

Unseasonable warmth will finally come to an end after a wet Thursday. We set daily record warm lows across the Northland yesterday, and we could reasonably do the same again today as temps heading out the door are extremely warm for this time of year in mid-30s to low 40s. We don’t have far to go to manage highs in low 40s to low 50s today with the warmest conditions in northwest Wisconsin. The warmth paired with rain will deteriorate lake ice conditions.

North central Minnesota was the first part of the region to see moderate rain overnight with around a half inch observed near Brainerd. Periods of rain will continue to move across the region through the day. Additional accumulation is generally between 0.1 and 0.5” across the Northland. Cooler air starts to return to the region tonight behind the cold front, allowing rain to gradually mix with and turn to snow. Friday morning’s commute could be slick with temps falling below freezing and a thin coating of snow on roads. Accumulation is still expected to be a dusting to an inch with the potential for 1” staying north of the Iron Range.

Friday will then stay cooler with highs in upper 20s to mid-30s. It’ll be cloudy and breezy out of the west with areas of light snow showers lingering. Snow showers may linger Friday night into Saturday morning with around an inch possible locally along the South Shore. The weekend is then dry and cooler. We’ll settle into a stretch feeling more like February through next week. As of now, there still isn’t confidence in another widespread accumulating snow event.

Today: Cloudy and breezy with occasional showers. High 44. SE wind 10-15 mph. Chance of rain: 90%

Tonight: Cloudy and breezy. Light rain turns to snow after 3 am. Low 31. SW wind 10-15 mph. Chance of precip: 70%

Tomorrow: Cloudy and breezy with a chance for snow showers. High 33. W wind 10-20 mph. Chance of snow: 30%

Tomorrow night: Cloudy and breezy. Low 20. WNW wind 10-15 mph.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy and breezy. High 29. NW wind 10-15 mph.

Sunday: Partly sunny. High 30. W wind 5-15 mph.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High 32. W wind 5-10 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. High 32. NW wind 5-10 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. High 32. NW wind 5-10 mph.