Rounds Of Plowable Snow Targeting Much Minnesota As March Ends

You didn't think Mother Nature would let Minnesota off that easily, did you?

While we've seen very little snow this winter so far, that trend looks like it will be changing as we shift into the official start of springtime. How fitting. We do need the precipitation, but many Minnesotans might prefer it just to come in the form of rain by now.

Not only is there a potential for accumulating snow, but there are actually a few chances in the forecast before the end of March. Here's hoping you didn't put those shovels and boots away quite yet.

Here's a look at what we could get.

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Round 1 of snow comes at the end of this week

The chilly, wintery temperatures we're getting in the region this week will translate to snow for Thursday and Friday, with a coating of shovelable coating of the white stuff possible before the end of the week.

How much is possible?

As with any winter snow event, we hear about it and the storm path moves and everything changes. As of right now, Southern and Central Minnesota looks to be the the main target, with Northern Minnesota not being completely left out.

Early weather models show as much as 9 inches of snow possible through places like Le Seuer and Northfield, with Central Minnesota in line for 3-5 inches of snow and places like Duluth getting 2-4 inches.

The National Weather Service outlined in the map above the likelihood of at least 2 inches of snow, with better than 50/50 odds for much of the area south of Highway 2.

Round 2 of snow comes early next week

Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash

Ok, big disclaimer here. Any forecast that looks more than a few days into the future can be unreliable. A lot can change in a forecast that looks even just a few days into the future. That said, next week could be interesting.

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A prolonged precipitation event targeting the region from Sunday through Wednesday the 27th could bring with it enough snow to keep the plow trucks and snowblowers busy.

One weather model shows snow at the amount of a few inches a day for those four days that could lead to upwards of 6-8 inches of snow in Duluth, 8-12 inches in St. Cloud, 8-14 inches in New Prague, 8-12 inches in the Twin Cities, and 6-10 inches in Rochester.

Northwestern Minnesota looks like the only place that might be spared by most of these two snow events as of right now.

We'll have to see how things change between now and then, but there's something in the forecast to keep an eye on for the last week of March.

The 15 Least Snowy Winters On Record In Duluth History

Since the National Weather Service began keeping weather records in Duluth in the late 1800s, here are the 15 winters with the lowest snowfall totals on historical record.

It is worth noting that the official records from 1941-today have been recorded at the area now known as the Duluth International Airport (away from the lake, on top of the hill). Before then, various locations closer to Lake Superior had been used for official weather recording data. For anyone that knows anything about how Lake Superior and the hill play a role in temperature and snow, you can see how this makes older records inherently different.

While these records note the "least snowy winters", they actually include all seasonal snowfall from July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth

Source: Shovels Ready! Rounds Of Plowable Snow Targeting Much Minnesota In The Coming Days