No Fooling, Plowable April Snow On The Way To Minnesota This Week

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but winter isn't quite done with us yet here in Minnesota.

I'd like to say it's just an April Fool's Day joke, but it sadly isn't. As we turn the page from March to April, it is looking like some plowable snow is coming, and it isn't out of the question that some places could see more than a foot of new snow by the end of the weekend ahead.

As with any springtime wintery storm system, it's bound to be messy, and snow totals are difficult to predict due to how close temperatures are between what falls as rain or snow, plus whatever may melt as it hits the ground. That said, a lot can change between now and when the weather events arrive.

When? Where? (Why? Haha) Here's what you need to know.

April starts off on a chilly note, helping winter weather linger

Parts of Minnesota have been enjoying 50s, 60s, and even 70s in the last few days. People near Lake Superior in places like Duluth haven't quite seen that same level of warmth, but spring has largely been making its presence known recently.

While the temperature swing won't be quite as pronounced in Duluth and other places in Northern Minnesota, a midweek cool-down is on the way, with daytime highs across a good part of the state in the 30s to around 40 starting Wednesday, through Saturday.

Aside from the peak "warmth" of the day, temperatures overnight and in the morning & evening hours will be chilly enough to make for snow chances across portions of Minnesota.

Two rounds of precipitation bring significant snow chances to Minnesota

This week will see a one-two punch of weather events that will bring snow chances to a good share of Minnesota.

The first round, expected to sweep into Minnesota late on Wednesday and through the day on Thursday, will be the warmer of the two systems, with a line of snow on the northern side of the system, a mixed precip boundary, and rain on the southern side of things.

Where that line sets up will play a role in how much snow and where it falls for part one, but some models suggest a line of snow that could bring at least 3-5 (or maybe a little more) inches of snow somewhere across the midsection of Minnesota.

Places like Duluth and areas along the North Shore, as is often the case, seem like they could be in line for slightly higher amounts.

That first storm brings in a little cooler air to reinforce a second event for Friday and Saturday, where another round of precipitation is likely to bring more snow to the northern half of Minnesota.

This system, being further out, is harder yet to predict, but a band of 4-6 inches of additional snow looks possible later in the day on Friday and into Saturday somewhere in the northern or central parts of the state.

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Between the two events, predicting how much snow could fall in any given place in Minnesota is pretty tough this far out, especially considering all of the variables. That said, some models point to between 5 and 10 new inches of total new snow across the northern half of Minnesota, with lesser amounts further south.

Places like Duluth and along the North Shore could see more. One model suggests 15 inches of snow by the end of the day on Saturday in Silver Bay and a foot elsewhere along the North Shore.

Other models point to lesser total amounts, but a kind of middle ground between the various models seems to suggest somewhere between 5 and 10 inches total between the two storms.

Again, these spring storms are especially tough to predict because a very slight change in temperature can drastically change snow totals. Plus, there is a lot of bare (and somewhat warmed-up) ground that will help melt some of that snow as it lands.

Looking past these snow events, Easter Sunday does look like it clears up, and we start seeing a bit of a warm-up again. The warm-up will take a few days to really settle in, but by mid-week next week, 50s and 60s are possible across a good part of Minnesota again.