Mainly dry Saturday; gusty winds, mild temps with a little light snow for Sunday

A little snow is on the way for the Northland on Sunday as a vigorous system swings through the area, but with the surface low remaining north of us, this will limit the amount/duration of snow we get late this weekend.

Here’s how the late weekend system looks in the upper levels. Greatest chance for some light snow will occur when the strongest lift passes through the area which shows up as the dips in the solid black lines on the image below.

Source 12z NAM 500mb vorticity forecast valid 12 AM Saturday night to 12 AM Sunday night; https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/

Up and down temperatures are forecast for next week which results in average temperatures being slightly above normal in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Most persistent cold will be found over western Canada while the most persistent warmth will be found farther south/east from the Northland.

Source 12z European ensemble model 1.3.2020; https://weathermodels.com/

I’m continuing to monitor model trends for mid-month for a snowier/colder weather pattern which may setup across the upper Midwest and Great Lakes.

The overall pattern looks favorable for several winter systems to move out of the Rockies with cold, arctic air pouring south out of western Canada behind these systems while warm air spreads north/east ahead of these systems. Stay tuned!

Source 12z European ensemble model; 1.3.2020

Low temperature forecast for Saturday morning, January 4, 2020. Source https://graphical.weather.gov/

High temperature forecast for Saturday, January 4.

…Weather Summary…

A small but compact disturbance passed well south of our area today, this system produced about 1 to 3 inches of snow today in parts of southwest and far southern Minnesota (south of the Twin Cities) with reports of 4 to 5 inches of snow in a few spots in northern Iowa. Note: You can clearly see the circulation of today’s system on MRMS radar imagery shown below. Source https://lab.weathermodels.com/

Outside of a few flurries, the weather tonight looks quiet in our area under partly to mostly cloudy skies, lows will mainly be in the teens with north or west winds 5 to 15 mph.

Partly to mostly cloudy skies Saturday with highs in the 20s to around 30 degrees, winds will be out of the west or southwest 10 to 20 mph.

Low pressure with its warm front and cold front swings through the Northland Saturday night into Sunday. Gusty winds, mild temps and some light accumulating snow will accompany this system as it moves through the area. Highs on Sunday are forecast to be in the 30s, but winds from the west gusting to 35 mph will make it feel a little cooler. Note: Snowfall accumulations on Sunday look to range from one-half inch to 2 inches.

Forecast for Duluth and Superior

.Tonight… Mostly cloudy. Low 11 to 16. Wind northwest 5 to 15 mph becoming west late.

.Saturday… Partly to mostly cloudy. High 25 to 30. Wind southwest 10 to 20 mph.

.Sunday… Breezy. Mostly cloudy with some light snow. Accumulations of an inch or less. Milder. High 31 to 36. Wind south 10 to 15 mph, becoming west to southwest 20 to 30 mph with higher gusts possible.

Thanks for reading!

Tim