Paul Douglas On Weather
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Snow Totals From Tuesday's Snowstorm

The heaviest snowstorm of the season so far occurred on Tuesday in the Twin Cities, with 8.4" officially reported at MSP Airport. That fell short of the record of 12.6" back in 1991 (yes, the year of the Halloween Blizzard earlier in the month).

You can see where the heavy band of snow set up - from south-southwest of the metro right through the south and east metro and into Wisconsin. The heaviest total reported was 9" two miles east of North St. Paul. We also saw snow totals of 8.5" near Birchwood Village, in Burnsville, and in St. Peter.

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Sunny With Highs Near Freezing Thursday

It'll be a cold start for the kids out at the bus stop Thursday morning, as morning lows dip into the upper single digits and low teens in the Twin Cities. We'll see a few clouds around during the morning hours, but by the afternoon we should see mainly blue skies. Highs will climb into the low 30s - right around freezing. However, with stronger south-to-southeast winds, it'll feel more like the teens and low 20s during the afternoon.

Clouds will stick around throughout much of the day up in far northern Minnesota, but as you head farther south mainly sunny conditions will reign (with just a few morning clouds). Highs will be in the 20s and 30s across the state.

Winds will be strongest in southern and western Minnesota, where 30-40 mph gusts will be possible - particularly in the afternoon hours.

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Warming Into The Weekend

It'll be a bit interesting over the next few days! On Friday we'll see highs climb up to around 40F with a warm front moving through the region ahead of a system that'll bring a snow chance Friday Night. Due to that, mainly cloudy skies are expected Friday. Sunnier skies are expected Saturday and Sunday, with highs only in the upper teens behind the system Saturday but warming back to the low 30s for Sunday. Saturday will also see blustery winds with gusts up to 30 mph.

That system Friday night will bring some light snow to central and southern Minnesota with up to an inch possible up toward Mille Lacs. Some slight icing will also be possible. Snow will be heavier up in northern Minnesota, with 1-3" possible.

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November Recap (Through Tuesday)

It has been an up-and-down temperature month for the Twin Cities, with the daily temperature departure ranging from 23.1F above average (November 2) to 16F degrees below average (November 19). Overall, the warmer weather has outweighed the cooler air, with the average temperature 0.6F above average through the 29th - tied for the 49th warmest to date. Meanwhile, it's the 25th wettest November to date with 2.40" of liquid, and 14th snowiest with 13.0" of snow.

Parts of eastern and northeastern Minnesota have been wetter than average (rain and/or melted snow) with over 3" of liquid in Duluth.

Meanwhile, at least half a foot to a foot of snow has fallen at most climate sites across the state (the exception being St. Cloud).

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Driving On Snow And Ice Is Always Challenging
By Paul Douglas

The last 48 hours has brought a crash course in...how not to crash. Driving on snow and ice is always a challenge. Brakes are only a suggestion. A white-knuckle series of controlled skids. A little like snowboarding on 4 wheels. All you can do is slow down, leave more room and make sure your insurance is paid up.

Snow lovers got their crystalline-fix, and I'm happy to report that only nuisance snow events are shaping up into next week, with a few swipes of arctic air. Winds won't be as strong today, and upper 30s tomorrow will feel like sweet relief. A coating of fluff Friday night marks the leading edge of the next chilly slap, with Saturday "highs" stranded in the teens. Another nuisance snow on Monday and Tuesday drags yet another shot of numbing air south of the border, with a premature taste of January by the middle of next week. We may dip below zero. A jolt of milder, Pacific air may thaw things out a bit within 2 weeks.

December is here; the holidays beckon. Betting on a white Christmas this year.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Blue sky, breezy. Wake up 11. High 31. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

FRIDAY: Fading sun, snowy nighttime coating? Wake up 30. High 41. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind S 10-15 mph.

SATURDAY: Plenty of sunshine. Polar breeze. Wake up 9. High 17. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 10-20 mph.

SUNDAY: Sunny and brisk. Wake up 21. High 30. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 15-25 mph.

MONDAY: Coating of light snow. Wake up 14. High 31. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind SW 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: Period of light snow possible. Wake up 10. High 16. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Some sun, little warmth. Wake up 6. High 15. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
December 1st

*Length Of Day: 9 hours, 1 minute, and 57 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 1 minute and 32 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 9 Hours Of Daylight?: December 3rd (8 hours, 59 minutes, 4 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise: December 30th-January 5th (7:51 AM)
*Earliest Sunset: December 5th-December 13th (4:31 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
December 1st

1998: The warmest December day ever in the Twin Cities is recorded, with a high of 68 degrees. St. Cloud rose to 61.

1985: Parts of central Minnesota receive up to a foot of snow. Snowfall totals include 12 inches at Waseca and Milaca, 11.3 at Alexandria, and 11 inches at Fairmont and Long Prairie.

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National Weather Forecast

A system out west will continue to produce rain and snow as we head through Thursday. Most of the rest of the nation will be quiet with only some lake effect snow downwind of Lake Ontario and a few storms in the Southern Plains and southeastern Florida.

Several feet of snow is expected to fall in the mountains out west as we head through the end of the week. Meanwhile, we'll also be watching some snow downwind of the Great Lakes. 1-3" of rain could fall across parts of both the western and eastern United States.

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Lessons from the World Cup: How a climate is changing sports

More from Grist: "Shortly before the English national team took the field in Qatar for its 2022 World Cup debut, its official Twitter account posted a video of players flocking to the sidelines of a training session, dripping in sweat and taking turns cooling down in front of a mist machine. "It was hard," English defender Conor Coady told press after the practice. "It was something we needed as a team, to get used to [the heat], to feel it, to understand it."World Cups are usually held in early summer, but this year's competition was delayed because of the Middle East's searing heat. Even still, outdoor temperatures hovered in the low 90s as hopeful teams arrived in Qatar in early November."

In an ancient reindeer forest, one woman has found a way to slow climate change

More from the Washington Post: "Pauliina Feodoroff walks through one of the world's last ancient forests, with lingonberries, wild mushrooms and reindeer droppings crunching gently beneath her dirt-caked boots. But her stride falters as she enters a clearing littered with tree stumps, limbs and branches. Chainsaws mowed down this section last winter, and now it's off-limits for the hundreds of reindeer who once helped it blossom. Feodoroff — a member of the Sámi Indigenous group, a community that revolves around the reindeer and their habitats — wants to buy this land back, and summon the reindeer to return. It's part of a grand experiment to rewild the Arctic by regenerating the biodiverse latticework of reindeer habitats, which help regulate the planet's temperatures. Quickly and quietly, 44-year-old Feodoroff is deploying dozens of Sámi negotiators to buy up strategic plots of land. She's allying with conservationists and institutions to raise awareness about deforestation in reindeer habitats, and is pushing to redefine these forests as falling under international jurisdiction, rather than national."

U.S. wind generation falls into regional patterns by season

More from EIA: "Wind plant performance—how much electricity a wind plant generates compared with its maximum possible generation—depends almost entirely on the availability of wind resources, which vary depending on both the time of year and the geographic region. The performance of a power plant is often characterized as a percentage of the maximum possible generation in a given time period, a metric known as capacity factor. Nationally, between January 2016 and August 2022, wind plant capacity factors peaked in March and April and were at their lowest in July and August. Unlike fossil fuel-fired power plants, such as coal or natural gas plants, wind plants don't incur any fuel costs to generate electricity, so the electricity they produce is almost entirely determined by available wind resources. Wind plant performance is influenced not just by wind speed, but also by wind direction, wind constancy, and turbine height."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser