15" Total Inches Of Snow For MSP - Quieter Weather Into The Weekend

Another 8.8" of snow fell on Wednesday at MSP airport, setting a new record for the day. The previous recorded was 3.2" back in 1910.

That 8.8" is in addition to the 6" that fell on Tuesday. Over the past five days (Saturday through Wednesday), we've received 14.9" of total snow.

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

The 15" officially at MSP ranks as the 14th largest snow storm on record for the Twin Cities. Click here for more details from the Minnesota Climatology Office/MNDNR.

_______________________________________________

It has been quite a snowy winter so far across the state, with all Minnesota climate locations running above average snowfall wise - and most areas of the upper Midwest as well (expect out toward the west shore of Lake Michigan). Note that the St. Cloud total doesn't include Wednesday's snowfall... that total is only through Tuesday Night.

The 48.1" of snow that has fallen at MSP Airport is the third most snow season-to-date on record. The snowiest? You guessed it - the snow season of 1991-early 1992, which included the infamous Halloween Blizzard. 13" of snow fell in November at MSP, with 19.8" in December and already 14.9" through the first four days of January.

Meanwhile, up in Duluth, the 68.1" of snow that has fallen makes it the fourth snowiest start to the snow season on record. It falls just under 4" below the snowiest start.

_______________________________________________

Visibility forecast for 6 AM Friday.

Visibilities are expected to dip Thursday night into Friday morning due to widespread freezing fog that could cause slick surfaces. This is as temperatures dip into the single digits for lows.

After starting off in the single digits and teens with fog, we'll see mainly sunny skies with highs climbing to the upper teens.

After a foggy start, we'll see partly cloudy skies across the state for Friday with highs in the teens for many - but 20s are expected in the Arrowhead.

_______________________________________________

A nice, quiet stretch of weather is in store as we head into the weekend and early next week as high pressure sits overhead. Both Saturday and Sunday will see highs in the upper teens and lower 20s, before temperatures climb back into the mid-20s for next Monday. Mainly sunny skies are expected each day. Highs will continue in the mid to upper 20s through next week, with the next potential snow chance not moving in until mid/late next week.

_______________________________________________

MSP: 14th Biggest Snowstorm Since 1884
By Paul Douglas

We interrupt this drought for the third snowiest start to snow season since 1884 in the Twin Cities. A 2-day total of 14.9" at MSP. Lakeville wins the coveted Golden Snow Shovel Award with 17.7".

14th biggest on record! 48.1" in the Twin Cities this winter! The latest 30-year average for an ENTIRE winter at MSP is about 52". We are 28" above average in the snowfall department.

Only 1984 and 1992 were snowier, to date. The winter of 83-84 brought 98.6". 1992 started off with a snowy bang as a Halloween Blizzard stalled over Lake Superior. This week's storm got stuck; a reminder that eye-popping weather is likely when weather patterns stall.

Major snowstorms are often followed by outbreaks of polar air, but not this time. I see mostly 20s and a few 30s looking out 2 weeks, but nothing subzero, at least for the metro area. The sun is out into the weekend with a little snow possible late next week, to add to that growing pile outside your window. At this rate 70+" snow for the winter at MSP is possible.

_______________________________________________

Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

FRIDAY: Partly sunny and brisk. Wake up 7. High 18. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind W 3-8 mph.

SATURDAY: Ice fog early, then blue sky. Wake up 5. High 19. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 3-8 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly sunny, average temps. Wake up 10. High 24. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 7-12 mph.

MONDAY: Some sun, still quiet. Wake up 17. High 28. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SW 10-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy and cooler. Wake up 17. High 23. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NE 7-12 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Breezy with light snow. Wake up 15. High 22. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind E 10-20 mph.

THURSDAY: Flurries taper, some sun. Wake up 17. High 25. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

_______________________________________________

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
January 6th

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 56 minutes, and 8 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 11 seconds

*When do we see 9 Hours of Daylight?: January 9th (9 hours, 0 minutes, 8 seconds)
*When is Sunrise at/before 7:30 AM?: February 3rd (7:30 AM)
*When is Sunset at/after 5 PM?: January 17th (5:00 PM)

_______________________________________________

This Day in Weather History
January 6th

1942: The temperature rises from 32 below zero to 41 above in 24 hours in Pipestone.

_______________________________________________

On Friday, another atmospheric river will start to impact portions of the west coast with additional heavy rain and snow. Other scattered areas of precipitation can be expected across the lower 48, including snow in the Rockies, rain and snow from the Central Plains to Ohio River Valley, and a system producing snow and mixed precipitation from the Great Lakes into New England.

The heaviest additional rain and snow through Saturday evening will be out in the western United States due to a new atmospheric river system moving on in.

Potential precipitation late Friday through late Sunday.

Another atmospheric river will start to take aim at northern California Friday, moving south toward the Bay Area into the weekend. Another 2-5" of rain could fall across portions of northern and central California with this next atmospheric river, continuing the threat of flooding.

Potential precipitation next Monday and Tuesday.

This weekend won't be the end of the rain as another atmospheric river looks to impact California early next week, with another widespread 2-5" of rain expected from it - setting off another round of potential flooding.

_______________________________________________

Will California's 'atmospheric river' storms end the drought?

More from Grist: "For the past three years, California has been suffering under the worst drought in state history. Key reservoirs have bottomed out, farmers have left their fields unplanted, and cities have forced residents to let their lawns go brown. Now the state's weather has taken a violent swing in the other direction. A series of powerful "atmospheric river" storms — so called because they look like horizontal streams of moisture flowing in from the Pacific — have brought record-breaking precipitation to the Golden State over the last two weeks, dropping almost a foot of rain in the San Francisco Bay Area, overwhelming the state's rivers, and bringing several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the eastern part of the state. The storms have caused widespread devastation, destroying critical roadways in the Bay Area and killing at least five people."

Warming climate means more and stronger Atlantic tropical storms

More from Iowa State University: "A warming climate will increase the number of tropical cyclones and their intensity in the North Atlantic, potentially creating more and stronger hurricanes, according to simulations using a high-resolution, global climate model. "Unfortunately, it's not great news for people living in coastal regions," said Christina Patricola, an Iowa State University assistant professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and a study leader. "Atlantic hurricane seasons will become even more active in the future, and hurricanes will be even more intense.""

DOE official warns of solar supply chain risks

More from Axios: "Relying on Asia for imports could pose a risk to U.S. solar growth, a top Department of Energy official told Axios in an interview. Why it matters: The department is shedding light on where it believes there is risk in the solar supply chain (China) — and where there isn't — ahead of aggressive oversight from House Republicans. What they're saying: "There are certainly supply chain risks that come from having manufacturing concentrated in China and Southeast Asia," DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office director Becca Jones-Albertus told Axios. "We certainly want a more diverse geographic footprint and we would really like to have more of that here at home.""

_______________________________________________

Follow me on:

Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser