The next few days will certainly have an early spring like feel across the Northland as afternoon temperatures climb into the middle 30s to lower 40s, and there’s even a chance that some locations sneak into the middle 40s Saturday and Sunday. All this warm air can make some folks a little crazy, so be careful out there.
Not only can you watch the lake effect clouds shift NE on the low level southwesterly winds across Lake Superior today on Goes-16 satellite imagery, but if you look closely, one can also see the ice across the South Shore of Lake Superior shifting NE as well today thanks to the southwest wind, pretty cool! Speaking of the ice, there isn’t much, with only 19% of the lake covered by ice as of Thursday morning, and most of that is confined to the shores of Lake Superior, no ice farther out over the lake.
Source: https://weather.cod.edu/
Source: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/
Source region for our weekend warm-up will be that mild bubble of air which is over Montana and the western Dakotas today.
Source: RTMA model; https://lab.weathermodels.com/
Odds favor a continued dry pattern for northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin for the rest of this month and into early March per long range model guidance.
Source: 12z European ensemble model 2.20.2020; https://weathermodels.com/
| Low Temperature reports from around the Northland for Thursday morning, February 20th, 2020 Source: https://www.weather.gov/dlh/ Brimson, MN: -38F Cotton, MN: -38F Embarrass, MN: -35F Hibbing, MN: -33F Cook, MN: -29F Eveleth, MN: -28F Babbitt, MN: -28F Crane Lake, MN: -27F Floodwood, MN: -26F Ely, MN: -26F Bigfork, MN: -26F Pine River, MN: -26F Aitkin, MN: -24F Cass Lake, MN: -24F Grand Rapids, MN: -23F Walker, MN: -23F Brainerd, MN: -22F Hayward, WI: -22F Silver Bay, MN: -22F Hinckley, MN: -22F 3 E Wright, MN: -21F Butternut, WI: -21F International Falls, MN: -20F Siren, WI: -20F Orr, MN: -18F Moose Lake, MN: -18F McGregor, MN: -18F Solon Springs, WI: -18F Cloquet, MN: -15F Duluth Airport: -15F Superior Airport: -14F Note: Hibbing, Minnesota set a new record low temperature for February 20th of -33 degrees, the previous record low temperature for February 20th was -25 degrees set in 1966. |
Low temperature forecast for Friday morning, February 21st, 2020. Source: https://graphical.weather.gov/
High temperature forecast for Friday, February 21st, 2020.
…Weather Summary…
Mild, Pacific air is moving in!
Mainly clear skies tonight and Friday with continued warm air advection on breezy southwesterly winds.
Temperatures tonight although still chilly won’t be nearly as cold compared to the last few nights with lows tonight in the single digits below to lower teens above zero. Highs on Friday will be in the 30s.
A strong westerly 850mb jet increasing to 45 to 55 knots on Friday will lead to a breezy day across the Northland with wind gusts of 20 to around 30 mph.
Dry this weekend with highs in the mid 30s to low/mid 40s.
Note: One thing that could keep our temperatures down this weekend is if we begin to see low clouds/fog develop due to some melting snow. The NAM guidance is the most aggressive on the development of low level stratus this weekend which would keep temperatures in the 20s and 30s.
Looking ahead to next week – There isn’t a whole lot of change in the pattern as all the storms pass well south of the Northland. Could be some flakes mid to late next week as the pattern flips to a chillier one, but nothing major in terms of snowfall the way it looks now.
Forecast for Duluth and Superior
.Tonight… Mostly clear. Low 6 to 11. Wind southwest 5 to 15 mph.
.Friday… Breezy and milder. Partly cloudy. High 34 to 39. Wind southwest 15 to 25 mph.
.Saturday… Partly cloudy. High 37 to 42. Wind southwest 10 to 20 mph.
| Normal temperatures for February 21 High 26 Low 8 Sunrise Friday 7:03 AM CST Sunset Friday 5:42 PM CST |
Thanks for reading!
Tim
