Here's the 850mb temp anomaly through the weekend, which shows a fairly mild stretch of weather across the Upper Midwest as we approach the 2nd weekend of December. Meanwhile, colder than average weather will set up in the Western US.

Here's the extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis through mid month. Note that temps could warm into the low/mid 30s and we approach the weekend, which will be a little warmer than average for this time of the year.

The extended weather outlook through the first full week of December looks fairly quiet, but there will be some minor accumulations across parts of the state midweek. Weather conditions could be a little more active late week and into the weekend. Stay tuned...

The extended precipitation outlook through the weekend shows minor precipitation amounts across the state. There won't be a ton of precipitation over the next 5 to 7 days, but some of this could be in the form of snow and minor snow accumulations.

Here's the weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Tuesday, December 6th, which looks a little chillier than average with temps only warming into the mid/upper 20s. There will be more sunshine than there was on Monday.

Temps across the region on Tuesday will be cooler than average by nearly -5F to -10F. There will also be areas of snow across the northern half of the state with minor accumulations possible.

The simulated radar through midday Wednesday shows light snow potential across the northern part of the state on Tuesday and another light snow chance on Wednesday. With both of these light snow chances, there could be some minor accumulations across parts of the state, especially up north.

Here's the snowfall potential through Wednesday, which shows minor accumulations, especially up north of around 1" to 3".

Temps on Tuesday will be chilly to start in the morning with readings in the low/mid teens. High temps late in the day will be in the mid/upper 20s, which will be a little below average for this time of the year. Southerly winds will be a little breezy through the day with gusts approaching 15mph at times, especially in the afternoon.

Feels like temps will start in the single digits in the morning, but will warm to around 20F by the afternoon. It'll still be plenty chilly, so bundle up if you're planning on being out and about.

The Twin Cities is nearly nearly -9.45" below average for the year, which is the 18th driest start to any year on record (through December 4th). Meanwhile, International Fall, MN is still nearly 9.34"above average, which is still the 2nd wettest start to any year on record there.

It has been a dry year for many across central and southern MN. Extreme drought continues across parts of the Twin Cities to the Minnesota River Valley where rainfall deficits have been the greatest. It would be nice to get a good soaking prior to heading into winter, but it doesn't appear that anything substantial is on the way anytime soon.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis cooler than average temperatures continuing into the first full week of December. The chilliest day will be Sunday when the high struggles to get to 20F. However, there will be a warming trend as we approach the weekend with highs getting back into the 30s.

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days shows chillier than average temperatures in place through the week ahead. We'll be quite a bit warmer by the weekend with highs warming into the mid/upper 30s.

Here's the ECMWF extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis through the middle part of December. It'll be chilly through midweek, but it'll be mildly warmer as we approaching the weekend.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows cooler than average temps across much of the Western US as we approach mid month. Warmer than average temps will be in place across the Northeastern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather in place across the northern tier of the nation.

Good news: Minnesota meteorologists will be at a rare and merciful lack for words this week. No snowy migraines or painful polar punches in sight. I'm grateful for relatively quiet weather as we approach the Winter Solstice on December 21. It won't last.

Little stormy swirls keep breaking off the big storm stalled over the Pacific Northwest that dropped heavy snow on Seattle. One such disturbance may spark a snowy coating in the metro Wednesday, with the heaviest streak setting up north of MSP; maybe 2-4" for the Alexandria and Brainerd Lakes area.

Another minor league snow event is possible Friday, with much heavier amounts possible over far southern Minnesota and Iowa. No flaky whoppers for the metro, but snowing all around us, it seems.

NOAA's long range models predict a warmer than normal winter for much of the southern and eastern USA, with a slight cold bias from Minnesota to Montana, thanks in part to a chilly La Nina phase of the equatorial Pacific. Personally I hope it snows (without a polar vortex).

TUESDAY: Clouds and flurries. Winds: SE 7-12. High: 27.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy and quiet. Winds: N 5. Low: 14.

WEDNESDAY: Coating of flurries MSP, 2-4" up north. Winds: N 8-13. High: 22.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny - probably dry. Winds: E 5-10. Wake-up: 8. High: 28.

FRIDAY: Snow possible, especially south of MSP. Winds: NE 10-15. Wake-up: 21. High: 30.

SATURDAY: More flurries, not as chilly. Winds: SE 5-10. Wake-up: 27. High: 32.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy and quiet. Winds: SE 7-12. Wake-up: 28. High: 32.

MONDAY: Light snow or flurries possible. Winds: NE 8-13. Wake-up: 26. High: 31.

December 6th

1950: A snowstorm hits Duluth with 23.2 inches of snow in 24 hours, and a storm total of 35.2 inches.

1939: Warm weather occurs over parts of Minnesota. The high temperature hits 62 at New London.

December 6th

Average High: 32F (Record: 63F set in 1939)

Average Low: 19F (Record: -19F set in 1972)

Record Rainfall: 0.53" set in 1935

Record Snowfall: 4.4" set in 1969

December 6th

Sunrise: 7:36am

Sunset: 4:32pm

Hours of Daylight: ~8 hours & 56 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 1 minute & 12 seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 6 hour & 40 minutes

0.9 Days Until Full "Cold" Moon

"10:08 p.m. CST - December is usually considered the month that the winter cold fastens its grip on the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes this moon is referred to as the Long Nights Moon, and the nights are indeed at their longest. The moon is above the horizon a long time. On occasion, this moon was also called the Moon before Yule. This particular full moon makes its highest arc across the sky because it is opposite to the low sun. And on this very same night, another celestial object will also be opposite to the sun: Mars, which arrives at opposition 87 minutes after the moon turns full. Depending on your location, you will see Mars shining like a brilliant yellow-orange star, either hovering very close below the moon, or you will see the moon actually pass in front of Mars, producing an occultation."

The weather outlook on Tuesday shows cooler than average temps across the Midwest and Western US. Meanwhile, it'll be warmer than average across the Central and Southern US as well as the Eastern US.

The weather outlook for Tuesday shows active weather in place across the Southern and Eastern US with areas of rain and thunder. There will also be a little snow across the northern tier of the nation.

A stalled frontal boundary across the Central US will be responsible for widespread showers and storms with locally heavy rainfall. Some of the rain could be heavy enough to cause some minor snow accumulations.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavy precipitation across the Western US and through the Intermountain-West. There will also be another heavier batch of rain in the Central US over the next several days.

According to the ECMWF (European model), areas of heavy snowfall will be found in the Western US, especially in the high elevations. There could also be plowable snow across parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes through mid month. Stay tuned...

"Years of research show that climate change signals are amplified in the Arctic, and that sea ice in this region is sensitive to increases in Arctic warming. Sea ice greatly modifies the exchanges of heat, momentum and mass between the atmosphere and the ocean. So, the timings of the sea ice melt and freeze onsets, as well as the length of the melt and freeze seasons, play a key role in the "heat budget" of the atmosphere-ice-ocean system. Until now, most studies calculated the Arctic melt and freeze onsets using remote sensing observations from the surface, but rarely investigated the freeze-thaw process at ice bottom."

See more from Phys.org HERE:

"During a recent trip to the Galápagos Islands, I eagerly plunged into the equatorial waters, hoping to snorkel with sea turtles, sea lions, and maybe even penguins. The possibility of swimming with penguins should have tipped me off that the toasty, tropical swim I was anticipating wasn't actually on offer. In fact, before too long, I was scrambling back into our dinghy — where I shivered uncontrollably for a good long while. I eventually did get to see a penguin — the one in the photo above. I took its portrait on Santiago Island, 25 miles south of the Equator. These flightless sea-going birds, usually associated with Antarctica, are able to survive here in the tropics because of ocean currents that deliver deep, cold, nutrient-rich water to the Galápagos."

See more from Discover Magazine HERE:

"As the negative consequences of rising global temperatures due to mankind's relentless burning of fossil fuels become more and more apparent in communities across the United States, anxiety over finding a place to live safe from the ravages of climate change has also been on the rise. "Millions and likely tens of millions of Americans" will move because of climate through the end of the century, Jesse Keenan, an associate professor of real estate in Tulane University's School of Architecture, told Yahoo News. "People move because of school districts, affordability, job opportunities. There are a lot of drivers and I think it's probably best to think about this as 'climate is now one of those drivers.'"

See more from Yahoo News HERE: