Source: https://www.spc.noaa.gov
By no means is this a very strong cold front with late Wednesday afternoon temperatures ranging from the 70s ahead of the front to the 60s behind the front. Winds are gusty though from the southwest ahead of the front, and out of the northwest behind the front.
Source: https://weather.cod.edu
Goes-16 visible satellite loop from Wednesday, April 24, 2019.
Clouds and spotty showers this morning as a warm front moved through the area, some clearing for a time this afternoon, then as a cold front approached from the west, clouds and spotty rains redeveloped in parts of the Northland late in the afternoon.
A sloppy system on the way for Saturday, but the main impacts look to be south of the Northland.
Low pressure is forecast to move east/southeast of the Western High Plains Friday night-Saturday with the surface low expected to pass south of Minnesota Saturday.
Cold air north of the low will cause a rain-snow mix across much of southern Minnesota Saturday with some snow accumulation possible where heavier snow bands setup.
Some light rain or snow could push as far north as the Brainerd and Hayward Lakes area Saturday, but again it looks like the heaviest precipitation would remain south of our area unless the track of the low shifts farther north.
Source: https://weathermodels.com
12z European ensemble model 4-24-19
Yes it’s late April and it will be difficult to get snow to accumulate during the day, but if the snow falls heavily enough and long enough, then some slushy snow accumulation is possible Saturday across portions of south-central Minnesota.
Weather Synopsis for Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin
A warm late April day in the Northland with highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s with Brainerd climbing into the mid 70s! Highs today were around 15-20 degrees warmer than normal for April 24.
The day started with clouds and a few rain showers/sprinkles thanks to a passing warm front, but skies became mostly sunny to partly sunny this afternoon with a few showers and isolated thunderstorms popping up late this afternoon near a cold front which was heading east/southeast out of north-central Minnesota.
Winds were quite gusty today from the southwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts 25 to around 40 mph in some spots this afternoon.
Note: Duluth hit 70 degrees today for the 2nd time this month. We’ve had 2 days with a high of at least 70 degrees this month which is right at the normal amount of 70 degree days (2) for the month of April.
Tonight: Spotty showers and isolated thunderstorms will linger in parts of the area this evening with brief downpours, gusty winds and occasional lightning occurring in the strongest activity. Mainly dry overnight under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lows tonight in mid 30s to mid 40s.
Thursday: Breezy northwest winds 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts, otherwise a dry day ahead under mostly cloudy to mostly sunny skies. One more mild day as well with highs in the 60s, possibly a few near 70 degree temperatures especially over southern portions of the Northland. Another cold front will pass through the area later in the day and it’s behind this front where a chillier airmass will reside. Cold air advection spreads into northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin Thursday night with 850mb temperatures going from around +6C Thursday afternoon to around -2 to -8C Friday afternoon.
Friday: Cooler temperatures although not too bad (yet) highs in the upper 40s to middle 50s which is near to slightly below normal for late April.
…Looking Ahead…
Although Saturday’s system looks like it will pass south of our area keeping us mainly dry, there are a few more systems showing up in model guidance that could impact parts of our area late this weekend into next week with possible rain or snow, but it should be noted that forecast models have been struggling big time as of late so it’s definitely a low confidence forecast after Friday. One thing there is more agreement on are the temperatures which look to be cooler than normal this weekend through most of next week.
Forecast for Duluth
.Tonight… Mostly cloudy to partly cloudy. Isolated showers early. Low 40 to 45. Wind west to southwest 5 to 15 mph.
.Thursday… Breezy. Mostly cloudy to partly sunny. High 63 to 68. Wind northwest 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts possible.
.Friday… Cooler. Partly cloudy. Breezy. High 50 to 55. Wind northwest 15 to 30 mph.
.Saturday… Breezy and chilly. Considerable cloudiness. High 30 to 35. Wind east to northeast 15 to 25 mph.
Normal temperatures for April 25
High: 54
Low: 34
Sunrise for April 25: 6:04 AM CDT
Sunset for April 25: 8:11 PM CDT
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