/Issued 5:14 PM CDT, Tuesday, March 20, 2018/
Source: http://www.spc.noaa.gov
A new system on the way for Friday and Saturday but once again this one looks like it will miss most of the Northland to the west/south.
Source: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/regsci/gis/index.html
Source: http://weather.cod.edu
Goes-16 True Color one minute visible satellite loop from March 20, 2018 centered on Florida showing the severe thunderstorms which have been impacting portions of Florida and eastern South Carolina today.
Source: http://weather.cod.edu
Goes-16 True Color visible satellite loop from March 20, 2018. Lots of mid to high level clouds over the Northland today with lake effect clouds moving off Lake Superior thanks to the E-NE wind.
Weather Synopsis
Very quiet/dry weather pattern that we’ve been in since late February rolls on! Nothing happening around here as strong high pressure near Hudson Bay Canada continues to control our weather with very dry air, cool temperatures along with gusty east winds near Lake Superior. Storm systems have to detour west/south of that mammoth high to our north, so the active weather has been focused from the northern Plains through the Ohio Valley and into the eastern U.S.
Through Thursday: More of the same although not quite as windy near the big lake. Mostly cloudy to partly cloudy skies are expected across the Northland. Light lake effect snow showers will continue at times tonight along the North Shore of Lake Superior while some flurries or areas of light snow which have been affecting western-southern portions of the area today dissipate later tonight.
Lows tonight in the single digits to around 20 above, highs Wednesday in the 30s with upper 20s near Lake Superior. Highs Thursday will be in the 30s to lower 40s.
Note: Average highs at this time of year are in the mid to upper 30s, so after a few days of below normal highs, will get back closer to average high temps the next two days, or maybe even slightly above average by Thursday. Of course the exception to this will be near Lake Superior especially on Wednesday with another day of below normal highs likely.
Friday and Saturday’s system should remain west and south of our local area but the combination of the low to our southwest and high to our north will produce another round of strong northeast winds near Lake Superior especially for Friday night and Saturday when wind gusts of 30-40 mph could occur.
(EOM)
Note: The computer models offer some hope for getting some snow or rain around here by the end of the month but as I’ve pointed out before, once these highs/ridges lock into place it can be very difficult for them to break down, so it could be a case where the computer models are being overly aggressive on breaking down this pattern, and allowing the storm track to shift farther north bringing some snow or rain to the Northland next week.
***As of March 20, Duluth, Minnesota has only had 0.02 inches of precipitation this month, certainly on pace for the driest March on record which occurred in 1959 with 0.22 inches of precipitation*** Will see what happens next week, but doesn’t look like will get any precipitation at least through Sunday (25th)
Forecast for Duluth and Superior
.Tonight… Mostly cloudy to partly cloudy. Low 13 to 18. Wind east at 10 to 20 mph.
.Wednesday… Partly to mostly cloudy. High 29 to 34. Wind east at 10 to 20 mph.
.Thursday… Partly cloudy. High 35 to 40. Wind variable around 12 mph.
Normal temperatures for Wednesday
High: 36
Low: 20
Sunrise Wednesday: 7:10 AM CDT
Sunset Wednesday: 7:23 PM CDT
Tim