/Issued 5:15 PM CST, Tuesday, January 30, 2018/
Source: http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov
Source: http://www.intellicast.com
Upper Midwest radar loop ending at 5 PM CST, January 30, 2018.
Snow in blue
Mixed precipitation in pink
Link to Road Conditions
Minnesota – https://lb.511mn.org/mnlb/winterdriving/routeselect.jsf
Wisconsin – https://511wi.gov/map
Weather Synopsis
There was a strong area of low pressure ~990mb over southwest Manitoba Province late this afternoon. Ahead of this low was a 40-60 knot SW low level jet which is resulting in strong warm air advection over the upper Midwest this afternoon. At 4 PM today, 850mb temperatures ranged from +6C in far western Minnesota to -10C in far northeast Minnesota. Snow impacted all of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin today with about a 2 hour window with moderate snowfall. The limited duration of the heavier snowfall has kept snow accumulations to around an inch with two to three inch totals farther north. Temperatures late this afternoon were in the teens with milder 20s and lower 30s found over western Minnesota.
Tonight: Low pressure of ~989mb will move east out of southwest Manitoba Province reaching southern Ontario Province by daybreak. A cold front attached to this low will move east and through the Northland tonight. There will be lingering areas of snow and possibly some freezing drizzle in parts of the area tonight with additional snow accumulations generally of an inch or less, but the exception to this will be along the North Shore of Lake Superior where another 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible tonight especially north and northeast of Silver Bay. Temperatures will slowly rise through the evening hours and should get into the 20s in most areas, then toward daybreak will see temperatures fall off to between zero to the mid teens.
Wednesday: Arctic air will be moving into the Northland from N-S as low pressure passes north of Lake Superior. Cold air advection will be occurring Wednesday with 850mb temperatures during the morning ranging from -20C in far northern Minnesota to -8C in northwest Wisconsin, by Thursday morning 850mb temperatures are forecast to range from -20 to -30C. Highs will be in the single digits to lower 20s with lows Wednesday night in the single digits, teens and 20s below zero. Scattered snow showers and flurries are possible Wednesday but accumulations should remain less than an inch.
Thursday: Very cold but dry with some sunshine. Highs will be in the single digits below to single digits above zero with lows Thursday night in the teens, 20s and possibly even 30s below in the typical cold spots.
Note: It will be breezy at times through Thursday with southerly winds tonight turning northwest for Wednesday and Thursday, wind gusts 20 to 30 mph are possible. The combination of very cold temperatures and gusty winds will likely result in the need for wind chill headlines for most of the Northland for Wednesday night-Thursday morning.
Snowfall Reports from Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Source: http://www.weather.gov/dlh/
Virginia, MN: 3.1 inches
Grand Rapids, MN: 1.5 inches
1 N Cloquet, MN: 1.0 inch
Danbury, WI: 1.0 inch
Lester Park, MN: 1.0 inch
Duluth Airport: 0.9 inches
5 NW Two Harbors, MN: 0.9 inches
3 N Amnicon Falls State Park, WI: 0.7 inches
Forecast for Duluth and Superior
.Tonight… Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Snow showers and flurries at times. Additional snow accumulations less than one inch. Patchy freezing drizzle also possible. Low 12 to 17 with slowly rising temperatures. Wind south to southeast at 10 to 20 mph becoming southwest late.
.Wednesday… Breezy. Partly to mostly cloudy. Snow showers or flurries possible. High 20 to 25. Wind west to northwest at 15 to 25 mph.
.Thursday… Very cold. Partly cloudy. High 1 to 6 above. Wind northwest at 10 to 20 mph.
Normal temperatures for Wednesday
High: 20
Low: 2
Sunrise Wednesday: 7:34 AM CST
Sunset Wednesday: 5:11 PM CST
Tim