Douglas: Plowable snow on Wednesday?

Rain Tuesday will change over to slush as colder air sweeps in

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The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 3, 2025 at 11:01PM

The Twin Cities area has picked up a pathetic 16” snow so far this winter, 2 feet less than normal to date, and meteorological spring kicked off March 1.

Old Man Winter: “Hold my beer.”

March is no stranger to slushy commutes, big temperature gyrations and howling winds, and Wednesday may bring back memories of previous tournament storms. An unusually intense storm tracking from Kansas City to Chicago will spread rain into Minnesota on Tuesday, but this sprawling atmospheric vacuum cleaner will suck colder air into the state, changing rain over to wet snow. Wednesday winds may top 40 mph, with some drifting possible, even though snow will be wet and slushy.

How much? I was afraid you’d ask. A good shot at 3 to 6 inches for the metro; less north and west, a little more south/east of MSP. Probably plowable.

No arctic air behind this storm; 30s and 40s into the weekend, but a spurt of Pacific air may boost temperatures above 60 one week from today.

That’s the thing about March snow. It doesn’t stick around for long.

about the writer

about the writer

Paul Douglas

Columnist

Paul Douglas is a nationally-respected meteorologist, with 40 years of broadcast television and radio experience. He provides daily print and online weather services for the Star Tribune.

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