Gradually Becoming Sunny Thursday; 40s Expected This Weekend

Some light snow showers will be possible Wednesday Night across southern Minnesota - mainly south of the metro. The highest totals - maybe an inch or two - will occur down toward I-90. Expect some snow-covered and slick roads down in this portion of the state for the Thursday morning commute!

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While we will begin Thursday on the cloudy side here in the metro, courtesy of that light snow ending across southern Minnesota, skies will become mainly sunny as we head toward the mid-afternoon hours. Temperatures climb from the mid-20s in the morning to the upper 30s in the afternoon.

Any lingering snow showers should quickly fade across southern Minnesota as we head through the early morning hours. Skies will be mainly sunny throughout the day in northern Minnesota. Cloud cover across central/southern Minnesota left over from the southern Minnesota shot of light snow should fade toward the midday and afternoon hours. Highs range from the 20s in western Minnesota to the 30s elsewhere.

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Mainly gorgeous weather is expected for the first weekend of Spring here in the metro! Highs will climb into the mid-40s each day - right around average for late March.

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We are stuck stubbornly at the 8th snowiest winter on record here in the metro with 81.2" so far at MSP Airport. We only need a whole tenth of an inch to pull into a tie for 7th, and 3.8" for 5th place. We're also tracking other seasonal snow records across the state:

MSP Airport is also climbing the rankings for most consecutive days with 1"+ of snow on the ground... though we are getting close to ending that. The number for this winter above (112 consecutive days) is only through Tuesday. The official Wednesday morning update that'll be used for this showed 2" of snow on the ground, which pulls us up to 113 days and a tie for 11th. If we can make it to Thursday morning with an inch or more on the ground, MSP will tie for the 10th-longest stretch.

This winter we've observed 9 days with at least 3" of snow at MSP, which is tied for the fifth most on record.

Meanwhile, MSP has had 5 days with 6"+ of snow, tied for the most on record.

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A Continuation of Prolific Pothold Weather
By Paul Douglas

I love a good obstacle course. During the summer I navigate around notorious construction zones using Google Maps, Waze, CB Radio and a network of drones. Until then I'm keeping busy swerving around VW Bug-size potholes and towering drifts. We have run out of places to hide snow.

For the Twin Cities this is the 8th snowiest winter, to date. A tie for 10th place for most days with 1" or more of snow on the ground (114 in a row). And [drumroll please] a tie with 1984 for the most days with 6" or more of snowfall during a single winter (5 days). Isn't this fun?

I see a sunnier stretch of weather shaping up from later today into the weekend, as our slow-motion thaw continues. Saturday's storm sails south and east of Minnesota with no blockbuster snow or rain events until (maybe) late next week. I see daytime highs mostly in the 40s, with 50s and 60s just to our south over Iowa next week.

Thick snowpack will limit just how mild it can get anytime soon. We need to melt some more snow. I'd be thrilled to savor 50!

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Partly sunny and cool. Wake up 27. High 38. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

FRIDAY: Plenty of sunshine, a bit milder. Wake up 20. High 45. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

SATURDAY: Some sunshine, storm stays south. Wake up 26. High 44. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, quiet. Wake up 25. High 46. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Few PM showers possible. Wake up 29. High 42. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: A cool blue sky. Wake up 25. High 38. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Clouds and wind increase. Wake up 29. High 43. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 15-25 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
March 23rd

*Length Of Day: 12 hours, 18 minutes, and 19 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 9 seconds

*When do we see 13 Hours of Daylight?: April 6th (13 hours, 2 minutes, 7 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 7 AM? March 29th (6:59 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/After 8 PM? April 17th (8:00 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
March 23rd

1966: A snowstorm brings a foot of snow to southern Minnesota.

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On Thursday, a frontal boundary from the Great Lakes and Northeast to the Southern Plains will help bring both wintry and stormy weather to this swath of the nation. Rain and snow continue out west due to systems in place.

Several inches of snow are expected to fall in the mountains out west through the end of the week. Meanwhile, as we head toward the end of the week, another round of 3"+ of rain will be possible in the central portion of the nation.

The heaviest of that rain across the Ozarks to the Ohio Valley will be Friday to Friday Night, which is where we see a Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall that could lead to flash flooding. This is due to expected repeated storms that could lead to 3-5" of rain in a 24-hour period in an area that has had recent heavy rains.

Meanwhile, Friday also features the potential for severe weather in the Southern United States. An Enhanced Risk of severe weather (threat level 3 of 5) is already in place across portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. All severe weather types (hail, wind, and tornadoes) will be possible.

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Biden is creating new national monuments to protect land in Nevada and Texas

More from NPR: "President Biden on Tuesday proclaimed two vast swaths of land — Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, and Castner Range in West Texas — as national monuments, a designation that preserves a total of more than 500,000 acres of land from new development. "We're protecting the heart and the soul of our national pride. We're protecting pieces of history, telling our story that will be told for generations upon generations to come," Biden said at a conservation summit. Biden had pledged to conserve more land when he took office. But lately, he has come under intense criticism from environmental groups for approving a new oil drilling project in Alaska. Some environmentalists argued the Willow project violated the administration's climate and conservation goals, even though the administration also announced it will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean."

NASA's Webb Spots Swirling, Gritty Clouds on Remote Planet

More from NASA: "In just a few hours of observations, the space telescope revealed a dynamic atmosphere on a planet 40 light-years from Earth. Researchers observing with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed silicate cloud features in a distant planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere is constantly rising, mixing, and moving during its 22-hour day, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down. The resulting brightness changes are so dramatic that it is the most variable planetary-mass object known to date. The team, led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona, also made extraordinarily clear detections of water, methane, and carbon monoxide with Webb's data, and found evidence of carbon dioxide. This is the largest number of molecules ever identified all at once on a planet outside our solar system."

The next hot fast food menu item? Electric car charging

More from Axios: "Several major fast food and convenience store chains have recently announced a big push into electric vehicle (EV) charging, a trend that could accelerate efforts to expand the country's embryonic charging infrastructure. Why it matters: Automakers are finally getting serious about electrification — yet many would-be EV buyers want more assurance they'll be able to find chargers when they need them. Driving the news: Convenience store chain 7-Eleven recently launched its own EV fast-charging network, called 7Charge. The network has chargers across Florida, Texas, Colorado and California so far, with plans to expand into Canada as well. ... Users will be charged based on the energy they consume or the time they spend charging, depending on local regulations. 7Charge is compatible with a wide array of EVs — even Teslas, though they'll need an adapter."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser