6:36 PM Thursday, October 26, 2023
-Gusty northeast winds to 20 to 35 mph continue near Lake Superior tonight with areas of fog and mist.
-Some more rain is likely in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin tonight as low-pressure lifts northeast out of northern Iowa/southern Minnesota.
-Precipitation in far northern Minnesota should change from rain to snow late tonight/early Friday morning with a few hours of snow possible before this system exits to the NE Friday afternoon. Note — The highest chances for snow with some accumulation is forecast to be along and north of a line from around Bigfork to Ely, but as for snow accumulations the highest amounts are expected to be around the International Falls area and also including Littlefork, Orr, Crane Lake, Northome and Big Falls where we could see about 1 to 3 inches of snow by Noon Friday with only trace amounts of snow expected farther south from Bigfork toward the Ely area.
-A chilly weekend ahead with scattered flurries and snow showers from time to time. Afternoon temperatures in the 30s in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin with overnight/morning temperatures in mid 10s to mid 20s.
Duluth area: Gusty northeast winds (25 to 35 mph) tonight with fog and mist along with some rain at times. Winds diminish for a brief time early Friday morning around 4-6 AM, and then will see winds become northwest while increasing again with gusts to 35 mph developing around 7 AM Friday and continuing throughout the day Friday. Temperatures around 45 to 50 at 7 AM Friday fall to the mid 30s to around 40 Friday afternoon, and to around the freezing mark by 7 PM Friday. Lingering light showers of snow and rain Friday afternoon and if we’re lucky we might even see a tiny bit of sun.
NAM 3km model radar forecast through 7 PM Friday.
Rain (green)
Snow (blue)
Snowfall forecast through 1 PM Friday via NWS Blend of Models.
Winter Storm Warnings and Advisories remain in effect tonight/early Friday morning from far northwest Minnesota through much of North Dakota into eastern Montana.
Greatest amounts of precipitation tonight/early Friday are forecast to be over northwest into far northern Minnesota with 0.50″ to 1″+ amounts.
Total precipitation forecast through 1 PM Friday via NWS Blend of Models.
24-Hour Precipitation Reports from October 25-26, 2023 (thru 6:08 PM on the 26th)
Source: MesoWest
Clam Lake, WI: 1.38″
Hayward, WI: 1.00″
Spooner, WI: 0.93″
Webb Lake, WI: 0.90″
Glidden, WI: 0.87″
Siren, WI: 0.86″
Minong, WI: 0.57″
Ashland, WI: 0.51″
Poplar, WI: 0.49″
Deer River, MN: 0.49″
Hinckley, MN: 0.41″
Washburn, WI: 0.38″
Ely, MN: 0.35″
Solon Springs, WI: 0.35″
Duluth Airport: 0.33″
Isabella, MN: 0.32″
Hibbing, MN: 0.31″
Walker, MN: 0.24″
Grand Rapids, MN: 0.23″
Cass Lake, MN: 0.22″
Eveleth-Virginia, MN: 0.22″
Esko, MN: 0.21″
Orr, MN: 0.20″
Duluth Sky Harbor Airport: 0.18″
McGregor, MN: 0.18″
Aitkin, MN: 0.17″
French River, MN: 0.17″
Brainerd, MN: 0.15″
Northome, MN: 0.14″
Littlefork, MN: 0.10″
Moose Lake, MN: 0.09″
An upper-level trough and a much colder airmass covering the northern Rockies and northern Plains continues to push farther south/east albeit pretty slowly today.
Goes-16 water vapor loop from Thursday, October 26, 2023 (loop time ends 5 PM CT)
Snow (blue colors on the map below) continues to fall this afternoon in parts of the northern Plains and northern Rockies.
Some impressive snowfall totals thus far from this system.
Up to 8 inches of snow reported northwest of the Grand Forks, ND area as of late Thursday afternoon.
Light snow chances are increasing in much of the Northland early next week, centered on the late Monday-Tuesday time frame as a pretty strong trough moves south/east out of Manitoba. This doesn’t look like a big snow event for our area, but there could be enough snow to whiten the ground in some parts of the Northland early next week.
Thanks for reading!
Tim