5:30 PM Thursday, March 24, 2022
A strong mid-upper-level area of low pressure will dive SE through the upper Midwest on Friday but preceding the upper-level system will be a cold front which moves through the Northland early Friday morning, scattered rain or mixed rain-snow showers are possible with the cold front, and then as colder air works into the area will see snow showers and flurries at times through the day Friday into Friday evening. The combination of steepening low-level lapse rates and the forcing associated with the upper-level system could lead to scattered snow squall development across the Northland on Friday with brief periods of very low visibility due to falling and blowing snow.
Quieter weather returns to most of the Northland Friday night and over the weekend, but lake effect snow showers are likely along the South Shore of Lake Superior in northwest Wisconsin from Friday night into Saturday morning.
Simulated radar forecast through 1 PM Saturday.
Snow (blue)
Rain (green)
Note: A few rain showers are possible in Duluth around 3 to 5 AM Friday followed by scattered snow showers and possible snow squalls into early Friday evening.
Snowfall accumulations with this next system will be greatest along parts of the South Shore of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin where lake effect snow is likely Friday night with around 1 to 3 inches of snow possible in that area, with up to 6 inches of snow possible around the Hurley and Gile areas. The rest of the Northland will see an inch or less of snow on Friday, but localized higher amounts can’t be ruled out if a few snow squalls affect the same location.
Strong cold air advection will cause strong gusty winds late tonight through Saturday.
Strong northwest winds will spread east out of western Minnesota later tonight and will reach the Twin Ports between 4-6 AM Friday and it looks to stay pretty windy right through the day Saturday.
Peak wind gusts out of the northwest of 30 to 45 mph are possible in Duluth and in much of the Northland Friday into Friday night.
Highs on Friday will be in the 30s across the Northland, but the warmest temperatures will likely occur prior to sunrise, after that will see temperatures fall to the low 20s to around the freezing mark across the area.
Widespread sunshine finally returned to northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin today as the storm which had been affecting our area moved far enough to the south/east today.
Goes-16 visible satellite loop from Thursday, March 24, 2022.
Goes-16 water vapor loop from today shows an active weather pattern in place with multiple low-pressure systems.
The next system of interest for the Northland is the one digging southeast across Saskatchewan this afternoon.
Goes-16 visible satellite loop of Lake Superior from today is a beautiful one as it shows widespread clear skies along with areas of lingering ice. Note: Clouds move on the animation below, while the ice shows very little movement.
STORM POTENTIAL NEXT WEEK
Another complex setup appears to be setting up for next week with multiple pieces of energy embedded within a larger upper-level trough which is forecast to move out onto the Plains early to mid-next week.
Depending on how this system tracks will determine how much it will affect northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin in the March 29-31 time frame but based on the current storm track it does look like will see some snow and possibly even another round of freezing rain/sleet in much of the Northland next week. Stay tuned.
Greatest chances for 6″ or more of snow next week is across far northern Minnesota and also near Lake Superior (north/east of Duluth) per EPS model forecast.
Snowfall accumulation forecast for next week (ending March 31, 2022) from the 20 member GEFS model from Thursday (12z run)
Purple colors on the images below represent snowfall amounts of 6″ or more using a 10:1 ratio.
Thanks for reading!
Tim
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