...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO NOON WEDNESDAY...

Including the cities of Elk River, Cambridge, Center City, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, Le Sueur, Faribault, Waseca, Owatonna, Albert Lea, and Hudson

* WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 3 inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central and south central Minnesota and west central Wisconsin.

* WHEN...From noon Tuesday to noon CST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches.

The simulated radar from AM Tuesday through midday Wednesday shows a surge of heavy mixed precipitation with areas of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. The heaviest band which will move through Tuesday into early AM Wednesday before a lull in the precipitation Wednesday.

Here's a broken down chart for timing and precipitation types for select cities across the region. For the Twin Cities, there could be wintry mixed precipitation (heavy at times) through much of the midday/afternoon times frame. Precipitation could eventually switch to all rain at some point late Tuesday into Wednesday before a lull in the precipitation during the day Wednesday. Meanwhile, folks in western Minnesota could see a brief period of freezing rain before snow arrives. Areas of heavier snowfall maybe possible across central MN later Tuesday into Tuesday Night, before tapering into AM Wednesday.

The snowfall potential through 6AM Thursday shows heavier snowfall amounts from the Dakotas into Central and Northeastern Minnesota. Some of the amounts could exceed 6" (in dark purple) with up to 1 foot possible along Minnesota's North Shore. The core of the Twin Cities metro will see warmer temperatures, which means more of a mix and less snowfall potential. Suburbs north and west of the metro will see a better chance of slushy accumulations.

This storm will bring freezing rain and icing to parts of the region, but more significant amounts of 0.25" to nearly 0.50" will be possible across far western Minnesota and into Eastern South Dakota. Parts of the Twin Cities could see a little ice glaze as well.

The weather outlook shows lingering snowfall across the region on Thursday and Friday with shovelable/plowable snowfall amounts likely. Temperatures will be colder and winds will be gusty, so there is a potential for blowing and drifting snow, which could lead to difficult travel conditions through the end of the week.

A potent storm system will bring a wide array of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow across the Midwest. The heaviest snows will be north and west of the Twin Cities with a messy mix of wintry precipitation possible for the metro. This will be a long duration event, the messiest day will be Tuesday into AM Wednesday with snow and accumulations likely later in the week. Blizzard conditions will be possible across the Dakotas with blowing snow possible across central and northern Minnesota.

The precipitation outlook through the week ahead will be quite impressive. Much of the liquid precipitation that falls across the Central US will be connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Widespread 0.50" to 1.00" (plus) amounts will be possible through the week ahead. The heaviest rains will be found across the Southern US, where strong to severe thunderstorms will be found. There could be some 2" to 4" tallies possible across the the Gulf Coast States, where severe storms will be possible.

Widespread winter weather headlines have been posted from the Front Range of the Rockies to Northeastern Minnesota. This will be a widespread event with widespread impacts. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions will be possible with significant icing possible for some.

Heavy snow will fall along the Front Range of the Rockies to the Dakotas into Minnesota, Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan. Much of the snow will be plowable and potentially crippling with gusty winds and blizzard potential for some.

The strongest wind gusts across the region could be up to 40mph to 50mph, which could cause blizzard conditions.

According to NOAA's WPC's Winter Storm Severity Index, there will be Major and even Extreme Impacts across parts of the High Plains and Midwest. This could be a crippling event for some with the heavy snow and strong winds. Dangerous and potentially life-threatening travel conditions will be possible for some.

According to NOAA's SPC, there is an ENHANCED RISK of strong to severe thunderstorms, where large hail, damaging winds and even a few strong tornadoes will be possible on Tuesday. The severe threat continues on Wednesday across the Gulf Coast States.

The temperature trend over the next several days will be warmer than average as the storm system passes by. The extended temperature outlook show much colder weather in place as we approach Christmas.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis, which shows warm than average temps in place through the the of the week and then a much colder air mass moves in by the weekend and into next week.

The Twin Cities on Tuesday, December 13th, looks pretty messy with a wintry mix moving through mainly during the 2nd half of the day. Temperatures will warm into the mid 30s with strong winds.

Temps across the region on Tuesday will warm into the 30s across much of the state, which will be nearly +5F to +10F above average. It'll be an active day with widespread wintry precipitation and significant travel impacts.

It'll be another mild day Tuesday with temp running above average for much of the day. Temps in the morning will be around 32F with highs approaching the mid 30s in the afternoon under cloudy skies. East to southeasterly winds will be quite strong with gusts approaching 40mph at times.

Feels like temps will be in the 20s through much of the day, but it wont be bitterly cold just yet. Wait for next week!

The Twin Cities is nearly nearly -9.64" below average for the year, which is the 18th driest start to any year on record (through December 12th). Meanwhile, International Fall, MN is still nearly 9.33"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 precipitation outlook through next week shows fairly widespread heavy precipitation amounts through the week ahead. There will be some 0.50" to 1.00"+ tallies, some of which will fall in the form of heavy wintry precipitation across the region.

The extended temperature outlook through the week ahead will be milder than average with highs approaching the mid the upper 30s through midweek. Temps start getting colder through the day Thursday and into the weekend ahead with well below average readings by the weekend.

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days will be busier than average with precipitation expected almost every day through the next several days. It'll get colder late week and into the weekend ahead with temps dropping into the teens by the weekend.

Here's the ECMWF extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis over the next several days shows warmer than average temps through the week ahead. It gets colder as we head into the weekend and the week leading up to Christmas.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows cooler than average temps across much of the Central US as we head into next week!

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.

Welcome to March! Which will be followed by an early January next week. Old Man Winter has a wicked sense of humor.

A few headlines: The Twin Cities will miss out on the heaviest snow today and Wednesday. Blame (or thank) an atmospheric wedgie: a surge of warmer, drier air aloft. The old "dry tongue" is back. A sloppy inch of slush is possible at MSP later today, but most of the main surge of moisture (coming PM hours today) will fall as rain or freezing rain. Glaze may build up on some bridge decks, with the worst icing over far southwest MN this morning.

The heaviest snow may fall on the North Shore of Lake Superior with some 20"+ amounts from Duluth to Thunder Bay. The metro area will pick up accumulating snow on the cold backside of this system as the storm stalls over the Arrowhead later this week. Some 3-6+" amounts may fall Thursday into Saturday. A few more inches of fluff may fall next Tuesday as arctic air approaches. Subzero the latter half of next week? Probably. A white Christmas? Oh yeah.

TUESDAY: Windy with snow/ice/rain. Winds: SE 20-40. High: 36.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Breezy. Rain & snow mix likely. Winds: ESE 20-40. Low: 34.

WEDNESDAY: Metro rain/drizzle. Heavy snow north. Winds: E 10-20. High: 39.

THURSDAY: All snow, few inches possible. Winds: N 10-15. Wake-up: 31. High: 33.

FRIDAY: Colder. Couple more inches of snow. Winds: SW 10-20. Wake-up: 21. High: 25.

SATURDAY: Light snow tapers to flurries. Winds: W 10-20. Wake-up: 19. High: 25.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy, better travel. Winds: SW 8-13. Wake-up: 13. High: 20.

MONDAY: Light snow develops. Winds: E 10-15. Wake-up: 17. High: 27.

December 13th

1995: A low pressure system moved across northern Minnesota, depositing a band of five to seven inch snowfall along a line from around Wheaton to north of St. Cloud and around Rush City. Alexandria received seven inches of snow. Meanwhile, in southern Minnesota, one to four inches of snow fell, along with one-quarter to one-half inch of freezing rain, which forced some school closures.

1821: An extended cold snap begins at Ft. Snelling. Highs were below zero for all but one day of a 19-day stretch.

December 13th

Average High: 29F (Record: 53F set in 1891)

Average Low: 16F (Record: -21F set in 1917)

Record Rainfall: 0.48" set in 1975

Record Snowfall: 6.3" set in 1983

December 13th

Sunrise: 7:42am

Sunset: 4:32pm

Hours of Daylight: ~8 hours & 49 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 50 seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 6 hour & 47 minutes

2.1 Days Before Last Quarter

The weather outlook on Tuesday will be warmer than average through the Central US ahead of a storm system that will cause widespread disruptions through midweek. Areas of heavy snow and ice will be found up north, while strong to severe storms will be possible in the Southern US. Meanwhile, temps across the western half of the nation will be colder than average behind the storm system.

The weather outlook for Tuesday shows active weather in place across the Central US with heavy snow and ice to the north and widespread showers and storms across the Southern US with severe storms and heavy rainfall.

The main concern will be the major storm system across the Central US with widespread precipitation from the Gulf to the Canadian border. Severe storms will be possible across the Southern US with heavy snow and blizzard potential across the High Plains.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavy precipitation across the much of the Central and Eastern US.

According to the ECMWF (European model), heavy snow will be possible over the next several days, mainly across the high elevations in the Western US and across parts of the Midwest. The Great Lakes and Northeastern US will also get in on some heavy snowfall

"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 for climate reasons 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:

"The reason for this, according to the scientists over at Science Notes, is because water has a high specific heat, which according to the US Geological Society means that it takes more energy to heat it compared to other substances. When it's frozen, as in snow, it means your body has to work extra hard to melt it from solid into liquid, and if you're in a life-or-death situation, you want to conserve as much energy as possible to keep your internal organs warm. Expending energy to melt snow into drinkable form only further dehydrates you if you're doing it in large quantities."

See more from Adventure HERE:

"THE GEMINIDS tend to be one of the best and brightest meteor showers of the year. This year, they peak overnight on Tuesday, December 13 through Wednesday, December 14. While the Moon will be nearly full, it should set after midnight local time and allow you to catch quite a few meteors, as long as the skies are clear. WHAT CAUSES METEOR SHOWERS? — Meteor showers occur due to dust streams in space. As the Earth orbits the Sun, from time to time, our planet enters these streams. The dust flies into our atmosphere at high speed and harmlessly, but spectacularly, burns up high above us. This movement causes "shooting stars" that we can see from the ground. The dust is left behind from asteroids (space rocks) and comets (icy snowballs). Since these worlds are so tiny, they tend to fall apart over the eons thanks to the tug of the Sun's gravity. These tiny bodies, in fact, date from the near-beginning of the Solar System. So a meteor shower is a moment to reflect on how much our neighborhood has changed over the eons."

See more from Science Alert HERE: