Snow And Ice Possible Thursday - 30s To End 2022

Forecast loop from Midnight Wednesday Night to 6 AM Friday.

As we head into Wednesday Night and Thursday, we are watching a system moving through the upper Midwest that could bring a wintry mix of precipitation along with it. Some light freezing rain or freezing drizzle will be possible tonight into Thursday. As the cold front approaches Thursday afternoon and evening, we will see snow chances increase into the overnight hours.

We will see at least some accumulating ice (mainly less than a tenth of an inch) into Thursday across mainly southern and northeastern Minnesota. However, it would not be surprising to see at least some slight glazing outside of areas marked with "accumulating" ice in the graphic above. This icing will continue to lead to slick surfaces.

A band of 1-3" of snow is expected to fall from southwestern Minnesota to the Arrowhead as we head through Thursday and Thursday Night, with that band falling just northwest of the metro.

As we watch that freezing drizzle/freezing rain chance eventually change over to snow by the evening hours, highs across the state will range from the teens near the Red River Valley to the 30s from the North Shore south across central and southern Minnesota. If you miss out on the precipitation, cloudy skies are expected.

We'll watch that wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow during the day in the metro, changing over to snow late in the afternoon hours. Temperatures aren't expected to budge much during the day - staying in the low to mid-30s.

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As we head toward the evening hours on New Year's Eve, a spare snow shower could be around the region, but it doesn't look like it would accumulate to much. It should clear out in time to ring in 2023, with mainly cloudy skies at midnight and temperatures around freezing.

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Meanwhile, we are tracking the potential of a storm in the Monday-Tuesday time frame next week to begin the new year. The track of this low is going to be crucial, as a more northern track (which the American shows above) brings more rain to the metro and snow/ice to northern Minnesota, and a more southern track (as the European shows) brings the snow and ice chances to southern Minnesota. We'll keep an eye on this for the next several days to see which one "wins" out.

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Potential For A Big Storm Early Next Week
By Paul Douglas

For the record 19.4" snow has fallen at MSP this month, the 12th snowiest December since 1883. Our pattern looks snowy into early January with highs in the 20s and 30s (above zero). I consider that a "win". A little rain today ends as a coating of slush tonight. Expect a dry Friday with flurries mainly north of MSP New Year's Eve. Just dribs and drabs of snow.

A more significant (plowable) snowfall is possible late Monday into Tuesday, but it's too early to tell where the axis of heaviest snow will set up. Hey, we're in a bad drought. Let it snow!

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Light rain ends as slush. Wake up 31. High 34. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind W 3-8 mph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy, flurries north. Wake up 22. High 32. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind S 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: Peeks of sun, good travel. Wake up 19. High 31. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 7-12 mph.

MONDAY: Cloudy, snow arrives late PM. Wake up 21. High 28. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind NE 8-13 mph.

TUESDAY: Potential for plowable snowfall. Wake up 27. High 31. Chance of precipitation 90%. Wind NE 15-30 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Light snow tapers to flurries. Wake up 25. High 28. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind N 10-20 mph.

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 29th

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 39 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 35 seconds

*When do we see 9 Hours of Daylight?: January 9th (9 hours, 0 minutes, 8 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise: December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*When is Sunset at/after 5 PM?: January 17th (5:00 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
December 29th

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On Thursday, showers and thunderstorms will impact areas from the Great Lakes to the lower Mississippi Valley, with an additional cold front bringing snow in across the upper Midwest. A system out west will bring a mess of rain and snow to the region.

Through Friday evening, over 3" of rain could fall across portions of the lower Mississippi Valley and along portions of the West Coast. It'll be the western mountains that see the heaviest snow, where several feel could pile up through the end of the year.

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Venus and Mercury pair up on December 28

Devastating disasters and flickers of hope: These are the top climate and weather stories of 2022

More from CNN: "From a small island in Polynesia to the white-sand beaches of Florida, the planet experienced a dizzying number of climate and extreme weather disasters in 2022. Blistering summer heat broke records in drought-stricken China, threatening lives and food production. In the United States, drought and sea level rise clashed at the mouth of the historically low Mississippi River. And in South Africa, climate change made rainfall that triggered deadly floods heavier and twice as likely to occur. Yet against the backdrop of these catastrophic events, this year also sparked some glimmers of hope"

2022 was a historic year for climate change policies. What's next for 2023?

More from Phys.org: "2022 was a landmark year for climate change action—and repercussions. President Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act to boost clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the midst of the hottest August on record for North America and Europe. Following a summer of historic flooding that put one-third of Pakistan under water, the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in November recommitted to the goals set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and agreed to help countries most vulnerable to climate change."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser