Paul Douglas On Weather
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Midweek Storm System

"There is growing potential for an impactful prolonged weather event across all of Minnesota and Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. There looks to be a variety of precipitation types, mainly rain and snow but possibly pockets of freezing rain or sleet. There will also be potential for accumulating snow and breezy conditions during the latter stages of this system. There are still many uncertain pieces of the forecast with this system, including the track and timing which would determine specific impacts, so please continue to monitor trusted sources for the latest forecasts and updates with this upcoming system."

Getting Messy Next Week

Here's the weather outlook from AM Monday to AM Friday. Weather conditions will remain mostly quiet through early next week before a large storm system arrives midweek. There is still a lot of uncertainty, but it is looking more likely that areas of rain, sleet & snow will be possible across the region. Stay tuned...

Extended Precipitation Forecast

Here's NOAA's WPC extended precipitation outlook through Friday of next week. Early estimates suggest a pretty waterlogged storm system moving through with up to or more than 1" of liquid possible. Stay tuned...

Average Ice Out Dates

We're still several weeks away from ice out across the state, but according to the MN DNR, here's a look at the average ice out dates for lakes across the state. Note that some lakes across the southern part of the state typically see ice out around the end of March. Lake Minnetonka typically doesn't see ice out until mid April. A few lakes in far northern & northeastern MN don't see ice out until late April or early May.

See more from the MN DNR HERE:

Great Lakes Ice Coverage

According to NOAA's GLERL, near 14% of the great lakes is considered ice covered. 22% of Lake Superior is ice covered.

Status of Spring

"March 21, 2022 - Spring leaf out continues to progress across the country. Our spring leaf anomaly compares the arrival of spring leaf out this year to a long-term average of 1991-2020. After a slow start to spring across much of the Southeast, spring is progressing more rapidly, arriving a few days to a week early in the southern Great Plains, the Southern Appalachians, and parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The Washington, D.C. area is 5-10 days early. Parts of New York City are one week early. In western states, spring leaf out is patchy, arriving a week late in some locations and over a month early in others. Spring bloom has also started to arrive in southern states, days to a week late in Texas and Florida and days to several weeks early in California. Spring bloom is over a week early in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We will continue to update this page as spring leaf out and bloom unfold across the country - check back frequently on this page!"

See more from NPN HERE:

Monday Weather Outlook

The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Monday will be quite a bit warmer than it was over the weekend with highs warming to near 40F. However, there will be more cloud cover through the day ahead of a developing storm system that will bring rain and snow to the region late Tuesday.

Meteograms for Minneapolis

The hourly temps for Minneapolis on Monday shows readings starting around 20 in the morning and will warm into the low 40s later in the afternoon. Skies will be cloudier than there were over the weekend. Thankfully winds won't be as strong as they were on Friday or Saturday, but southeasterly winds will gust close to 15mph through the day.

Wind Chill Values Monday

Feels like temps for Minneapolis on Monday will be chilly with readings starting in the teens early in the day with feels like 20s by the afternoon.

Weather Outlook on Monday

Temps around the region on Monday will still be nearly -5F to -10F below average for late March. Readings will only warm into the 30s and 40s across the state with more clouds than what we had over the weekend.

Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis over the next several days shows highs still running below average by -5F to -15F. We'll be in the 40s through the first half of the week, but will drop down into the 30s again late week as a storm system pushes through.

Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 day shows chilly sunshine in place through the week ahead. We'll see rain develop late Tuesday into Wednesday and will turn over to snow late Wednesday into Thursday with some snow accumulations possible. Nice to see temps potentially warm into the 40s to near 50 by the weekend.

Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis

According to the ECMWF & GFS extended temperature outlook, temps will be pretty chilly for the end of March and the early part of April. Readings will bounce around the 30s and 40s, but could reach the lower 50s by early April. Stay tuned...

8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows warmer than average temps across the Western US and cooler than average temps in place east of the Rockies

8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8-14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across the Southeastern US.

Rain - Ice - Snow On Tap This Week
By Paul Douglas

I often wander into the weather center wondering what fresh hell awaits. I'm rarely disappointed. Here's the thing, if there was no "weather" there would be no precipitation, no food, no life, intelligent or otherwise. I can live without wretched excesses of flooding, fires, tornadic hiccups and Texas-size hurricanes, but it appears the atmosphere doesn't care about our feelings.

For the record, I was thoroughly disgusted by our weekend relapse of wind chill, underscoring just how fickle a Minnesota March can be. Temperatures top 40 this week and NOAA's GFS predicts 50s the first week of April. There will NOT be snow on the ground for the Twins Home Opener April 7.

But will there be a Tournament Snowstorm this week? A big southern storm sparks a cold rain Tuesday, ending as wet snow Wednesday. Not much slush in the metro but Duluth and northern Minnesota may pick up a cool 3-6" or more. Isn't March fun?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Minnesotans EARN their springs. No more so than 2022.

Extended Forecast

MONDAY: Clouds increase. Winds: SE 10-15. High: 41.

MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Winds: ESE 10. Low: 30.

TUESDAY: Windy. Light rain PM hours. Winds: SE 15-25. High: 42.

WEDNESDAY: Rain ends as wet snow. Coating late? Winds: NW 15-25. Wake-up: 33. High: 36.

THURSDAY: Wind-whipped flurries. Slushy spots. Winds: NW 10-20. Wake-up: 29. High: 35.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny. A bit nicer. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 25. High: 41.

SATURDAY: Peeks of sunshine. Winds: NW 5-10. Wake-up: 24. High: 44.

SUNDAY: Blue sky, thoughts of spring return. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 27. High: 46.

This Day in Weather History

March 28th

1924: A drought is broken with style in southern Minnesota as up to 25 inches of snow falls.

Average High/Low for Minneapolis

March 27th

Average High: 47F (Record: 75F set in 1946)

Average Low: 29F (Record: 5F set in 1921)

Record Rainfall: 1.52" set in 1998

Record Snowfall: 5.6" set in 1965

Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis

March 27th

Sunrise: 7:02am

Sunset: 7:34pm

Hours of Daylight: ~12 hours & 31 minutes

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: ~ 3 minute & 08 seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 3 Hour & 51 Minutes

Moon Phase for March 28th at Midnight

3.0 Days Before New Moon

National High Temps Monday

The weather outlook on Monday shows temps running well below average along and east of the Mississippi River. However, the western half of the nation will be well above average with record highs likely across the Front Range of the Rockies.

National Weather Outlook

Weather conditions through early next week shows lingering show showers across the Eastern Great Lakes. However, the next big storm system will move into the Central US with areas of heavy rain, severe storms and heavy snow. This will be a prolonged and impactful storm system.

Extended Precipitation Outlook

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, in the eastern half of the nation with some of the heaviest found along the Gulf Coast States. There will also be some decent precipitation in the Southwest, including California.

Extended Snowfall Outlook

Here's the ECMWF extended snowfall outlook through next week. Areas of heavy snow will be possible across the Upper Midwest and into the Northeast. There could also be some decent tallies across the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada Range in California.

Climate Stories

"The deceptively simple plan to replenish California's groundwater"

"The state pumps too much groundwater, especially during droughts. Now, it's learning to refill the overdrawn bucket. "It's the simplest math in the world," says one scientist. PARLIER, CALIFORNIAFrom afar, the rows of knobby grapevines blend into the landscape of pink-blossomed almond trees and fragrant citrus. But get up close and you'll see something strange: The trunks of the vines are standing in several inches of glistening, precious water. These grapes, at the Kearney Agricultural Research Center in California's San Joaquin Valley, are part of a grand experiment that many hope will help solve the state's deepening water crisis. Here, in the state that provides some 40 percent of all the fresh produce grown in the United States, a 20-year-long drought has left growers and communities desperately short of water. To make up the persistent shortfall from rain and snow, they are pumping groundwater—and doing so far faster than water can trickle down from the surface to replenish underground aquifers."

See more from National Geographic HERE:

"Record-Shattering Heat at Both Poles Is Freaking Scientists Out"

"Unusually warm temperatures broke several records in both Antarctica and the Arctic late last week. The Concordia research base in Eastern Antarctica, one of the most remote research facilities in the world, reported temperatures at around -11 degrees Celsius or about 11 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 70 degrees Fahrenheit higher than usual on the icy continent. Over at the North Pole, temperatures reached new heights at around the same time. According to tweets from a climate scientist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute the mercury hit around 3.9 degrees Celsius, or 39 about degrees Fahrenheit. That's 50 degrees F (30 degrees C) higher than normal, not to mention higher than the point at which ice melts."

See more from Gizmodo HERE:

"Kids born in 2020 may live through about 7 times as many heat waves as their grandparents"

"A recent study supports what many young climate activists have been telling elected leaders for years. "Climate change will shape the lives of young people today and in a very drastic fashion," says Carl Schleussner of Climate Analytics, a nonprofit research institute. His team looked at the projected frequency and intensity of extreme weather events over the next several decades. They analyzed heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts. "And then we compared how climate change is materializing in the lifetime of different people alive today in 2022," he says. The researchers found, for example, that even if current climate policy pledges are implemented, children born in 2020 may experience about seven times more heat waves in their lives than their grandparents did."

See more from Yale Climate Connections HERE:

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