Warm Extended Holiday Weekend With Rain For Christmas

It's been a warm December so far in the Twin Cities. Through Wednesday, we have observed 10 days with a high at or above 40F in the metro - tied for the 18th most for the month. There's certainly a chance we could make a run toward the top three by the end of Christmas.

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A cloudy, foggy Friday is expected for the metro with areas of drizzle/light rain. It'll continue to be warm, with morning temperatures in the upper 30s and highs in the mid-40s.

Cloudy - and in areas, foggy - conditions are expected across much of the state on Friday. We'll be watching some drizzle/light rain showers across eastern Minnesota into western Wisconsin. Highs range from the 30s up north to the upper 40s in southwestern Minnesota.

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Saturday: Another surge of warmth comes into the region with highs climbing to around 50F. Cloudy skies will stick around.

Christmas Eve Sunday: Rainy weather moves in as we head throughout the morning hours, with heavier rain possible in the afternoon and evening. Record highs in the low 50s are expected.

Christmas Day Monday: Models are showing a potential short break in the rain for the metro early Christmas morning (with rain continuing south of the metro), but it surges back in by late morning, sticking around throughout the day. Highs top off in the low 40s.

While temperatures will fall quite short of the record high for Saturday in the Twin Cities, records will be possible in Rochester and Brainerd.

Here's a look at highs vs. records across the state for Christmas Eve. The Twin Cities record high for the day is 46F in 1957, which could easily be broken. We could also see record highs in Rochester, St. Cloud, Brainerd, and Baudette.

Forecast loop from 6 AM Sunday to 6 PM Tuesday.

Here's a closer look at that system that is expected to impact the region from Christmas Eve through next Wednesday as a system slowly moves from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes. The first batch of precipitation - Christmas Eve - will bring rain across much of the state, but some freezing rain or snow will be possible in far northern Minnesota. Rain retreats to southern Minnesota by early Christmas morning before surging back northward throughout the day. Precipitation continues Tuesday into Wednesday, with rain for the metro but wintry precipitation up north.

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Santa Anxious For Green Lawns And Rain?
By Paul Douglas

The revelry from yesterday's Winter Solstice party is dying down. At least the darkest days of the year are mild. Saturday should be the best day for golf and various water sports (excluding hockey and ice fishing) with a shot at 50F and a dry sky.<p>Today's rain should be light with patchy fog, but heavier rain (slight chance of thunder) arrives later in the day Christmas Eve and continues Sunday night. Santa's sleigh is equipped with deicing equipment, right?

This next warm storm stall south of Minnesota, prolonging waves of rain into at least Tuesday, possibly ending as a few fat snowflakes Wednesday. Sounds about right.

After peaking near a record high of 52 Sunday we cool into the 30s later next week and some model guidance suggests 20s in time for New Year's Eve. At some point it will snow. No, really! I'll see if we can sound the sirens and ring churchbells.

NOAA says just 14% of America has snow on the ground, least since 2003, when only 21% of the lower 48 states had snow December 22. Whoa...

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

FRIDAY: Light rain, fog and mist. Wake up 38. High 45. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind S 5-10 mph.

SATURDAY: Clouds and fog - but dry. Wake up 39. High 49. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: PM rain, possible thunder. Wake up 44. High 52. Chance of precipitation 100%. Wind SE 10-15 mph.

MONDAY: Storm stalls. More rain. Wake up 41. High 43. Chance of precipitation 90%. Wind NE 15-25 mph.

TUESDAY: Metro rain. Icy mix up north. Wake up 38. High 42. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind NE 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: A little rain mixes with snow. Wake up 34. High 39. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind N 10-20 mph.

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy, cool breeze. Wake up 29. High 38. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind N 10-15 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 22nd

*Length Of Day: 8 hours, 46 minutes, and 11 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 0 minutes and 1 second

*When Do We Climb Above 9 Hours Of Daylight? January 10th (9 hours, 1 minutes, 15 seconds)
*When Is The Latest Sunrise? December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*When Are Sunsets At/After 5 PM? January 18th (5:01 PM)
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This Day in Weather History
December 22nd

2000: A chilly day in Minnesota, with a high of zero degrees in Minneapolis, and a low of 14 below.

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The system that has been bringing major rainfall to southern California continues to spin off the California coast, heading toward Baja California. This will continue to bring rain across southern California and the Desert Southwest, with some Four Corners snow as well. Another system moving into the Pacific Northwest brings rain and snow chances. Showers and storms will be possible from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, with some snow chances mixed in in the northern Great Lakes.

The heaviest rain through Saturday will be across portions of the Southwestern United States, where - since Wednesday - the potential of 6"+ of rain will have fallen across southern California. However, a few inches of rain will be possible in the Desert Southwest (including Phoenix).

Several inches of snow will be possible in the western mountains in the next few days with the two systems impacting the region.

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The 10 Strangest Things We Saw In 2023's Weather

More from The Weather Channel: "2023 was a year of weird weather, spanning the meteorological spectrum from snow to hurricanes, wildfire smoke and drought. S​ome of these weather events were unusual for where or when they occurred. Others were just plain bizarre. Here is our ranked list of the strangest things we saw in 2023, followed by a couple other oddities noticed by our extreme weather expert."

How 2023 changed the way states do climate policy

More from E&E News: "Minnesota Democrats, newly in control of the state government, began 2023 by enacting a clean electricity standard. Michigan lawmakers followed suit months later — as one of their final acts before gaveling out for the year. The two laws were bookends to a year of climate action, experts say, as Democratic state officials advanced major policies that climate hawks could once only dream of. State officials committed serious money and political capital to cleaning up the electricity sector — the backbone of the energy transition — while also boosting electric vehicles, restricting gas in new buildings, and building factories to manufacture batteries and other clean technology. Climate activists hope such actions ripple out nationwide, as the U.S. lags in its goal of halving emissions by 2030."

A look back at U.S. climate solutions this year

More from Grist: "Some of the most jarring ways the United States will feel the impacts of climate change began to reveal themselves this year. The U.S. saw a record-setting 25 billion-dollar natural disasters. Maui experienced the country's deadliest wildfire in the last century. Phoenix suffered temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 consecutive days. Vermont endured epic floods. Despite all this, the Biden administration reneged on its promise and approved the Willow oil project in Alaska. But this year was also filled with news of encouraging, inspiring, and groundbreaking progress in the U.S., not least of which was its joining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and pledging with its biggest rival, China, to accelerate renewables."

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- D.J. Kayser