Above-normal temps will linger; chance of light snow northern Minn. Sat. night

This feels more like February.

Twin Cities high temperatures were more typical of April than February on several days this past week. That extreme warmth is gone, but our weekend temps will be several degrees warmer than normal.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temp is 27 degrees on Feb. 10. Metro area highs are expected to reach the mid to upper 30s Saturday afternoon. Much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Saturday highs in the 30s. Most of the northern third of Minnesota will have highs in the 20s.

Sunday high temps will be in the 30s in many locations, with some lower 40s in southwestern Minnesota and 20s in the far north:

Monday high temps will be mainly in the 30s, with some upper 20s in far northern Minnesota:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 40 degrees on Monday, followed by lower 40s Tuesday and Wednesday then mid 30s Thursday and mid 20s on Friday.

Flake chances north

Northeastern Minnesota could see spotty flurries Saturday morning and early Saturday afternoon.

An upper level disturbance will bring a chance of light snow showers to northwestern Minnesota late Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening. Patchy light snow showers are possible in roughly the northern third of Minnesota overnight Saturday night.

The chance of light snow showers lingers into Sunday morning in northeastern Minnesota and in parts of northwestern Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 p.m. Saturday to noon on Sunday:

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 
Updated forecast information will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in the Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D. and Grand Forks, N.D.

Ice safety

Much of Minnesota had several days with very warm temps this past week, so ice conditions deteriorated on our lakes. This is a good time for a reminder about ice safety.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has plenty of information on ice safety, including these guidelines:

According to the DNR:

Many factors other than thickness affect ice strength, including air temperature, wind, snow, streams, narrow areas or bottlenecks, sun, shade, fish communities, plant decay, and more. When a layer of snow melts and refreezes on top of lake ice, it creates white ice, only about half as strong as new, clear ice. Double the above thickness guidelines when traveling on white ice.

Addition information on lake ice can be found here.

Weather nugget

The official Twin Cities high temperature (measured at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport) was 50 degrees or warmer on five of the first eight days this February. The Twin Cities high temperature didn’t reach 50 degrees or warmer in any of the previous six Februaries.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.