Two storms systems effected Western Wisconsin, the first one being the strongest and had the most significant effects. During the day leading up to the storm it was mild out ahead of it My high on the 29th was 38.F, and the low that night barely even fell below freezing at 31.F, the temperatures quickly went back above freezing after sunrise and when the preip arrived in the storm it was rain. The center of the low pressure passed directly over the area, and as it spun around over the area surged the systems warm front northward and brought mild temperatures from the Southeast U.S temperatures continued to rise until the cold front it, even after dark temperatures rose into the lower to middle 40s, I was quite surprised in the systems strength when I saw temperatures as was as 43.F even more surprising at same time we were in the 40s, on the backside of the storm in NW Minnesota they were having blizzard conditions with temperatures near 0.F! Temperatures were warm enough to bring all rain to Western Wisconsin. The rain came in Waves of light to moderate rain, there was even some heavier downpours in some of the cells that formed. I got 0.31" of rain total. but some locations had more then .40, These rains fell on top of more then 2 feet of snow that sat over the area, fog and drizzle were common. Around 12AM Friday the systems cold front came back around and slammed into the mild air, The temperatures quickly dropped below freezing with an an hour and a half. In total I lost 8 inches of snow in the systems warmth and rain, going from 26" down to 18" spots that were wind whipped, or places where I shoveled became bare. Showing how this area wind whipped by my house became bare of snow
The second low pressure track right on it's heels, Its effects were not as big as the first storm but it had some interesting things to it. As the storm started to pull in, Thunderstorms formed in Minnesota along the front of the storm some of these cells hit the far western portions of the area, but thunder was not the odd part, Temperatures were in the 20s at the time this happened! instead of rain with those storms, sleet and hail fell, hail as large as pea sized was reported across central Minnesota. In places that did not have thunder, freezing drizzle sleet and snow fell instead, I picked up a light covering of sleet and snow, but it did not nearly name up for the snow we lost.
List of reported high temperatures
The highest temperature was 44.F reported in Amery, Knapp and Hudson, the coolest 39.F from Spooner.
We got 2 storm systems battling out between warm and cold air right over the Upper Midwest Rain will be possible over Eastern MN and all of Wisconsin Friday with very mild temperatures West in Northwest Minnesota and North/South Dakota, they will be dealing with significant snowfall, Then a strong cold front will move east and bring freezing rain, then snow to western WI and eastern MN minor accumulations are possible there with significant accumulations possible in central, western and northern MN
Local View
Note: This forecasting has been updated and changed. I've added the rest of New Years weekend.
We will have a messy end to the week with weather 2 storm systems will pass the local area. In the first one the local area will be in the warm sector of this storm, which will bring plain rain Thursday, but a strong cold front on the tail end of the storm will bring sharply cold weather back into the area on strong west winds by Thursday Night, rain will change to freezing then snow as temperatures quickly fall below 32. The second low pressure will ride up pretty much directly over the local area, but I believe all preip will be of the frozen verity with ether sleet or snow much of Friday 1-3 inches of accumulation will fall in southern and central areas, with 2-4 inches in Northwest areas. Saturday or New Years Day will be very cold, it will be windy with wind driven flurries and light snow showers, Winds will be gusting to 30MPH at times, this with cold will bring well below zero wind chills. another 1-2 inches of accumulations could fall bringing 2-5" for the entire area. Sunday conditions will improve, we will have sunny skies and cold arctic high temperatures.
Thursday, Cloudy Mild with Rain, Highs in the mid to upper 30s. Thursday Night, turning colder, rain turning to Freezing Rain, then sleet or snow. turning breezy lows in the mid 20s
Friday, Cooler and breezy dropping temperatures through out the day. Sleet and snow likely, Friday Night, Cold, Windy, with cold wind chills a good chance of snow, lows in the upper single digits.
New Years Day! Cold & Windy with wind driven light snow and flurries. 2-5"-entire area storm totals. Highs in the low teens, Wind chill well below zero. Saturday Night, Cold, Partly Cloudy then clearing, breezy, lows around or just below zero.
Sunday, Sunny & Cold, highs in the upper single digits. Sunday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the single digits below zero.
Looking Ahead
Monday through Sunday between the 3rd and the 9th the models show a dry pattern setting up, but with the way the extended models have been these past few weeks it's hard to pin down long ranges forecasts. This will likely be changing.
downtown Clayton Christmas Decorations Dec 25h 2010
I wanted to set the Christmas Mood and put of some pictures of area Christmas Decorations, Light snowfall on the 23rd brought 1-2 inches of snow to the area making for a perfectly white Christmas! The most snow was found where a band of heavier snow set up in Western areas. I had 2.0" while Rice Lake had 0.90" To set the mood even more flurries lasted all the way through Christmas Even and Christmas morning! Christmas is extra white this year since the snowpack is over 2 feet deep! I have had a total 28.50" of snow this month and almost all of it is still on the ground, places like Minneapolis have broken all time records for the snowiest December in recorded history.
Here is a picture of my Christmas display on our house
Merry Christmas from me here at NW Wisconsin Weather Blog!
At my station-Clayton it is 27.F with light snow and calm winds.
Christmas Eve Day Travel Conditions:
For people traveling into or out of the local 6 county area
At Rice Lake: it is 26.F Light snow falling with calm winds in New Richmond: it is 24.F with light snow falling and light winds. Roads are snow covered but plows have gone through Travel is good but use caution.
For people traveling to Eau Claire
In Eau Claire Now: it is 26.F with Light snow is falling and light ENE winds. Roads are snow covered but plows have gone through Good travel conditions
For people traveling to the Duluth/Superior area
In Duluth/Superior Now: it is 27 with Cloudy and light north winds. Roads are snow covered plows have gone through Good travel conditions
For people traveling to the Minneapolis/St Paul area
In Minneapolis/St Paul Now: it is 27.F with Light snow is falling with light NE winds. Roads are snow covered and plows have gone through Travel is ok, use caution and go slower
For people traveling to Green Bay or Upper Michigan
in Green Bay Now: it is 28.F with cloudy skies in Marquette Now it is 28.F with cloudy skies. Snow covered roads will be found on roads West of Antigo area on highway 64 and at Rhinelander on highway 8. No new snow with clear road conditions will be see east of those locations Travel is good.
For people traveling to Madison or Chicago
In Madsion Now: it is 27.F with light snow in Chicago Now: it is 30.F with heavy snow. Snow showers, some heavy will continue through the morning roads will be snow covered with 2-3 inches of snow, travel is a bit tricky near Madsion but is not impossible. use caution. Snow and ticky travel has moved into Chicago so use caution
Another Winter weather storm system will hit the Upper Midwest, which will deliver possibly significant snow to places that already have a very high snowpack. Dry weather will follow behind the storm just in time for Christmas, bringing fair temperatures and partial sunshine to the Upper Midwest.
Local View with Christmas Theme
Note: Due to the Christmas Holiday, I will provide weekend forecast concerning this Holiday and the entire Holiday weekend. I have also updated snowfall accumulations and have increased them slightly.
The storm talked about that would graze us in my last forecast issue looks to do just that. It appears it will graze us Thursday and give us minor accumulations. Light snow will likely not start until Thursdays evening, possibly after 10pm. The snow will be light and winds will not cause problems. Accumulations really will depend on how fast the air can moisten, but I have reason to believe it will be around 1-3" with the best chance at 2-3" in the far southwest area. Much less accumulation a half inch to an inch can be expected far north. Light snow and flurries may linger into much of the day Christmas Eve day but will only accumulate to a dusting, temperatures will be quite fair in the mid 20s, lows in the low teens. Christmas Day will have partly sunny skies with highs in the low 20s. There should be no weather problems. Lows under mostly cloudy skies Christmas Day Night will be in the upper single digits. Sunday will also be quiet, with clearing skies and colder temperatures, highs will be in the upper teens, Things will really cool off Sunday Night with lows in the low single digits.
Thursday, Mostly Cloudy, with light snow possibly developing in the afternoon, highs in the upper 20s. Thursday Night, Light snow, minor accumulations 1-3"- Entire area lows in the mid teens
Christmas Eve Day, Cloudy to partly sunny, off and on light flurries. Highs in the mid 20s Friday Night, Mostly Cloudy lows in the low teens.
Christmas Day, Partly Sunny, Dry, Highs in lows 20s. Saturday Night, Partly Cloudy Skies, lows in the low single digits.
Sunday, Partly Cloudy then Clearing, highs in the upper teens, Sunday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the low single digits
Looking Ahead
Following Sunday, on Monday the 27th looks quiet with warmer weather it continues to be quiet and mild through Wednesday, until a small system brings light snow and cooler weather for Thursday the 30th. Then the models show something interesting right in time for the New Years Holiday. A large storm system pulls out of the the Oklahoma region and moves Northeast toward the Upper Midwest, It will be one to watch as it has the chance to bring significant snow or rain to the local depending on where the low tracks. Behind it arctic air pulls down, then a few clipper systems racing down on the 4th and again on the 6th, It looks cold during this time frame. More on this later.
Backyard snow trails and nearly covered shrubs with one of the deepest snowpacks I can remember-December 21st
We just got done with a winter storm which hit the Upper Midwest and local region. This storm produced 2.50 to as much as 5 inches of snow in some areas, Even with this there were far less
snowfall accumulations then was expected of this storm. Which was not a bad thing since most areas have 2 feet or more of snow on the ground, But to describe what happened a friends mentioned to me a large stubborn high pressure forced the heaviest totals in southern Minnesota and he explained that was the reason the snow did not turn out to be as high as the could have been. A low pressure and warm front is what caused the snow, which first started Monday afternoon light and the slowly became a bit heavier by evening, but 12AM the heaviest was already over, but light snow continued through much of the night temperatures slowly rose through out the night and made it to the upper 20s by morning, freezing drizzle began falling which accumulated enough to cause a few travel issues.
Overall accumulations were minor with this storm, but it was just enough to re whiten the already major snowpack covering Western Wisconsin just in time for Christmas. I now have over 2 feet of snow on the ground, with a snowcover of around 25 inches, to compare how deep the snow is, the bushes in the photo about are 3 feet tall and 75% of them covered! I would also like to note I've broken my stations 3 year record highest snowfall total for December with a total of 26.50" so far this month alone, and the first day of calender Winter started today!
Snowfall reports.
The highest snowfall accumulations were in Eastern Washburn county, with reports in Sawyer county near the Washburn county boarder as high as 7.80" near Hayward, The lightest totals occurred in southern areas.
The Upper Midwest is still very active as we are preparing for yet another Winter Storm Monday which could produce heavy snowfall and significant accumulations in Northeast South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. a temporary quiet period follows Wednesday, before more active weather moves in possibly Thursday Local View
Note: The models have been quite choppy on weather systems so far this winter, because of this the map above is subject to significant change if a this storm shifts track.
Locally, We have another winter storm that looks to be targeting our area which looks to being significant accumulations, though it will not be as heavy as the Dec 11th storm. Timing on this shows Cloudy skies Monday afternoon then this gives way to light snow by the afternoon. With moderate snow likely for Monday evening and overnight, and it could be heavy at times. This moderate to heavy snow could last into Tuesday Morning before tapering to light flurries for the afternoon Tuesday. Temperatures will be in the low to mid 20s during the entire event so we can expect fluffy snow. The good news is wind will not be an issue with this storm, so blowing and drifting will likely be minimal.
Mondays Accumulations
I went with the low end guess on snow accumulations with this storm, some models put as much as 10 inches accumulation for our area, I may have to update my map with higher totals if this trend counties. The highest accumulations right now look to fall in the southern two thirds of the local area this could include all communities in Polk, Barron, St Croix and Dunn counties, as well as southern Burnett and Washburn counties, I went with 6-9" for this area with a bit less 4-7" in Northern and central Burnett & Washburn counties.
Monday, Cloudy with light snow developing in the afternoon. highs in the low 20s Monday Night Snow, moderate to heavy at times. lows in the mid 10s
Tuesday, Snow in the morning, moderate to heavy at times before tapering to flurries by late morning. Flurries lasting much of the afternoon, otherwise Cloudy with highs in the mid 20s Tuesday Night, Cloudy, lows in the mid to upper 10s
Wednesday, Partly Sunny, to mostly cloudy highs in the mid to upper 20s. Wednesday Night Cloudy lows in the upper 10s
Looking Ahead
Thursdays storm potential
I am closely watching a storm system right behind the upcoming one which looks to hit the local area on Thursday, Because this is one of the large big travel days due to Christmas, it's good to have an early word out. Right now it's trending mostly Minnesota has having the most. but the edge of the storm shows to hit the local area, which could produce low end of significant accumulation standards which is at least 6" This is still early in the forecasting process for this storm. Models will be updating so there will be updates on this in later forecasts.
Beyond Thursday for Christmas eve, It appears to cloudy and dry and colder. This will last into Christmas day, and into the rest of weekend afterwards. by Tuesday the 28th the model shows warmer and with more snow chances which last through Wednesday the 29th, behind it colder air moves in. Then it becomes warmer by New Years with another chance at light snow. At the end of the model run the models are picking on a potentially heavier snow event by January 3rd. More on this later
Yet another significant weather system will hit the Upper Midwest this week causing possible significant accumulations from ND Southeast through Central Minnesota. far Northern Iowa may also see some significant accumulations. Minor accumulations will cover the rest of Western WI IA and SD. Cool temperatures and calmer weather will flow this system for the weekend.
Local View
Locally we will not need to worry about heavy snows like the last storm dumped on us, but there will still be accumulations for us. Southwestern locations will have the best chance at seeing some snowfall. The River Falls area may see 2-3" 1-2" is likely for the rest of the area. Some spots may only see a dusting. Light to possible moderate snow will mainly impact Wednesday night and the early part of Thursday. Partly Sunny skies will be the rule afterwards for Thursday afternoon. Friday, Saturday and Sunday all look quiet with partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the mid teens lows in single digits every day and night.
Wednesday Night/Thursday Light to possibly moderate snow in overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning 2-3 inches accumulation-entire area. Highs in the upper teens. Thursday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the single digits.
Friday, Partly cloudy to partly sunny. highs in the upper teens. Friday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the mid single digits.
Saturday Partly Cloudy, highs in the mid teens, calm winds. Saturday Night, Partly Cloudy, lows in the mid single digits.
Sunday, Partly sunny to partly cloudy. Highs in the low teens. Sunday Night, mostly cloudy, lows in the low single digits.
Looking Ahead
Monday following out quiet weekend already looks active again. I see a system that may possibly produce minor accumulations in the local area, possibly even on the low end of the significant range. Colder and drier air follows this system for Tuesday, It looks to remain dry all the way through Thursday the 23rd. Then a more active pattern sets up again just in time for the Christmas Season travel and it looks like the system could be a big one. Significant snowfall will be possible somewhere in the Upper Midwest for Dec 24th through Dec 26th, but warm air will be closely involved with this storm and someone could see more rain/sleet then snow. It will be a storm we will have to closely monitor. Following the 26th, I see another chance at light snow before more cold air moves in. Then right at the end of the model it shows warmer air moving in.
My garden with tractor over half covered by gigantic drift Dec 12th
A major snowstorm which locals are calling the blizzard of 2010 hit region this weekend and brought very high snowfall totals over 20 inches in parts of the area . Strong winds caused significant blowing and drifting snow with near white out conditions at times. The storm forced the closure of entire road networks in several counties in the local area and literally brought Western Wisconsin to a complete standstill. Minnesota was also hit hard in the same ways, many local and main roads were closed, even the modern day city of Minneapolis was brought to a halt as air and bus travel was suspended. Conditions were even worse west of the low pressure center where Blizzard conditions were seen winds gusted as high as 60MPH in parts of Iowa. Blizzard Warnings covered much of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Southern & Eastern Wisconsin. Winter storm warnings covered the rest of the state of Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan.
Front of the house showing bushes barely above the snow Dec 12th
The statement "The calm before the storm" really applied to this storm, At my place Friday it was sunny with calm winds, even as nightfall rolled in skies were clear. It wasn't until late Friday evening that light snow started to fall . Saturday was a complete different story, by wake up time Saturday morning very heavy snow was falling and 7 inches of snow has already accumulated, over and inch per hour snowfall rates were falling in a huge band that was covering most of the area. In the afternoon winds began to increase over 30MPH at times, 35MPH was the highest on my station. This caused sigificant blowing and drifting, at times it was near white out conditions. When I looked out in the yard, I could barely see the barn across the from the house!
Significant snow and blowing snow Dec 11th
By 1 pm the worst conditions were hitting, business around Clayton began to close. I was supposed to work Saturday but I got a call that the restaurant where I work was closing due to heavy snow. by 2pm roads quickly became impassible or very difficult to travel on. Our street and driveway was impassible and I was snowed in, even main street in Clayton was blocked. Around that time I got the word from my friend that Barron County had closed it's entire road network, Polk County soon followed with the closings of all roads by 5, U.S highways 8 and 63 which are well travel highways were also closed. Things were not any better through the evening, by 7PM local news stations were saying Interstate-94 a major east-west interstate in St Croix and Dunn counties had to close because of significant drifts over the highway and the Wisconsin Department of travel was urging people to stay off all Wisconsin highways. To make madders worse very cold arctic air funneled behind the storm making for wind chills under -20.F. adding to already very difficult situations. A -22.F reading was the coldest on my station.
Significant front yard drift
This storm brought dumped major snowfall accumulations to the local area, 5.50 to as much as 23 inches were reported, At my location my stations old 3 year record of 8.50" was obliterated when I recorded a total in this storm of 19.0" Which is the most snow I can remember. This will likely be my stations highest total for a very long time because snowfalls of this magnitude are rare. Local news stations were saying this was the biggest snow in the area for almost 20 years back when we had the Halloween blizzard of 1991, It did not surpass the Halloween storm, but accumulations did rival that historic storm!
Me standing next to a drift by the Garage
This storm made very large drifts, most were over waist high on me which is at least 4 feet tall, It was tall enough to cover cars to the top of their windows! In the front yard drift photo above this one, the drift covers more then half of the small tree which is taller then I am! These were by far the largest drifts I've ever seen! Even my dad said they were the largest
My dog clearing the "mountain" of snow Dec 12
When I let my dog outside Sunday Morning, he didn't know what to think when he say walls of snow everywhere, it looked like a new world to him and these drifts made even getting to my snow gauge a difficult task!
Digging Out
Tractor with snow blower Dec 12th
It took a tractor with a large snow blower to dig us out, a plow was not strong enough. Normally my uncle plows us, but he said there was so much snow on his farm, there was no way he would be able to get to our house until Monday, luckily the neighbor plowed us out so we did not have to wait that long but it still too much of the afternoon to get through it.
Digging out and measuring wasn't easy, it took me more then an hour just to dig a path around our house and to our outbuildings. My old shovel broke in the process and we went out to buy a new one but they were all were sold out! We ended up borrowing one from my aunt. For measuring it was extremely difficult to get an accurate reading with all the drifts. I had to measure in 8 different place to get the reading, I originally had 16.50" but after some evaluation of the place of my snowboard considering the wind, I decided to take more measurements and out of the 8 measurements averaged 19.0" So this will be my official total.
Claytons Main street (Prentice Street) Late December 22nd
It took plow crews all of Sunday just to plow the roads. by late Sunday afternoon, they still did not have all the snow off the road on Prentice Street and they were running out of places to put it. It will likely take them until Monday before they can get all the snow plowed off!
Snowfall totals
Snowfall totals were in the double digits across southern parts of the area and were as high as 23 inches in Osceola, Snowdrifts of 3-4 feet were common here with drifts as high as 5 feet reported! There was a fairly sharp cut off in the highest accumulation, area with the least accumulation was Northern Burnett county where closer to 5" were common
Other blogs have coverage on this storm in there areas I've included a link to there reports
Attention is turned to a storm that has the potential to be a major winter storm in the Upper Midwest. Significant accumulations of at least 6 inches is possible across most of the Upper Midwest including Central Wisconsin, Southern & Northern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Very heavy, major snowfall totals are possible in Eastern Minnesota Central & Western Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Very winter conditions are expected behind the storm bringing near Blizzard conditions to parts of the region. Sunday a very cold arctic airmass will slide south, proving single digits highs for areas which could be impacted by major snowfall.
Local View
Note: This storms has been very difficult to forecast for, changing it's track significant the past weeks. Due to this, I am still not completely certain where the track of the low will be. This could cause forecast snow totals to incorrect if a change in the storms track should occur. Due to this storms significant impact potential I released this forecast early even with it's uncertainty. There will be no long term forecast.
A Major winter storm is set to impact the Upper Midwest. And bring the highest snowfall accumulation the local 6 county area has seen in resent years. This storm has the potential to significantly impact peoples lives in the area with heavy snowfall, high accumulations and strong winds causing significant and drifting blowing snow. Also behind the storm very cold air will flood in, which would only add to the already significant conditions.
I will time it out the storm the way it looks now. Friday will be mostly cloudy during the daytime hours, Winds will increase from the Southeast, temperatures will be fair an in the 20s. Friday evening is when this storm will start to effect the area in the form of Light snow. It should start around 9PM or after, winds and temperatures should not be a problem yet. Snow will begin to become moderate to heavy early Saturday morning and could even be very heavy causing near blinding conditions at times from 2AM 11AM Saturday . 1-2 inch per our snowfall rates and thundersnow can not be ruled out. To make madders worse wind will be blowing causing near white-out, blizzard conditions at times Saturday morning and afternoon. after 11am snow should decrease to light to moderate, but cold winds will increase out of the NW will be strong likely causing significant blowing and drifting, Travel will be very difficult to impossible especially on Saturday.
Cold Temperatures
Saturday night it will still be windy but visibility should begin to improve slightly, but just as this happens a very cold arctic air mass will be funnelling down from the northwest. Wind chills as cold as -20.F below zero could occur Saturday Night with lows around the upper single digits below zero. Sunday will be very cold, and their coldest levels of the season by far. Highs will only be in the very low single digits, with any wind chill making it feel much colder. Sunday Night temperatures will plunge well below zero and could approach as cold as -20 in a few locations, most locations will be in the mid teens below zero.
Snowfall Accumulation-Major in some areas
I've upped amounts due to the consistency in the forecast models. Widespread Winter storm value accumulations over 7" will likely be experienced at every locationin the area. Northern Burnett and Washburn counties look to be the area with the least accumulations but least amounts are still in the significant category high, 8-10 inches are likely here. 12 or more inches are likely in Southern Burnett & Washburncounties. The highest accumulation of 12-17 or more will be centered directly over the central area. and will be experienced in Polk, Barron, St Croix and Dunn counties. Places like Amery, Osceola, Rice Lake, New Richmond, Hudson & River Falls as well as Menomonie will see these amounts. The Clayton area will also likely be impacted by these amounts. With these very high amounts and strong winds of 30MPH or stronger causing blowing and drifting, snow drifts twice as high as actual accumulation will be common.
Friday, Cloudy becoming breezy. Highs in the low 20s, Light snow developing in the evening. Last travel plans should be made now. Friday Night, Snow, becoming moderate. Lows in the low teens.
Saturday, Colder, Snow heavy to very heavy at times with blowing snow, Near blinding conditions. Winds gusting to 30MPH at times. Cold wind chills. Saturday Night, Light snow with blowing snow, Windy, winds up to 20MPH and wind chills near -20.F with lows in the low single digits below zero. Total snowfall accumulations of 8-17 inches-entire area.
Sunday, Very Cold! Partly Cloudy then clearing. Highs in the low single digits. Wind chills around -10.F Sunday Night, Very Cold, clear skies. Lows in the mid 10s blow zero to around -20.F below zero.
Other local forecast blogs are covering this major storm and can be found here
The Upper Midwest will be getting another taste of arctic air Tuesday as a high passes quickly through. It will be short lived though as warm air begins pushing North ahead of the next system. The next system to effect the Upper Midwest will hit Thursday which looks to bring mainly minor snow accumulations across Northeast Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Upper Michigan will see lake enhances snow and could see significant accumulations.
Local View
Locally we will be dealing with Arctic Air Tuesday as highs struggle to reach the low teens for highs, even with sunshine! Lows Tuesday Night will likely be below zero for many areas, but areas of the south may manage to stay in the low single digits above zero. light winds will make it feel colder Tuesday during the day. Wednesday will be mostly sunny early then clouding over. Highs will be a bit warmer in the upper teens. Lows Wednesday night will not fall much, lows will be in the low teens. Friday we will have a weak clipper system pass mostly to our north, but it will pass close enough to bring light snow Thursday afternoon into Thursday Night. 1-2 inches looks like a good bet, but I would not be surprised is most areas got an inch or less. Northern locations have the best bet at least an inch. Highs Thursday will be in the mid 20s and lows in the upper teens.
Tuesday, Cold! Arctic Sunshine with highs in the low teens with cold winds. Tuesday Night, Cold, lows just above or below zero.
Wednesday, Sunny early then turning Cloudy, highs in the upper teens. Wednesday Night, Cloudy, lows in the low teens.
Thursday, Cloudy with light snow developing in the afternoon or evening. highs in the mid 20s. Thursday Night, light snow. System total accumulation 1-2" lows in the upper teens.
Looking Ahead
The forecast models have been un reliable the past few days. going crazy showing tracks that seem to change everyday, because of this I will not go too far into the ahead forecast. The major thing forecasters are watching currently is a system which looks to track out of the Western U.S and towards the Upper Midwest on Saturday Dec 11th, this system has the potential to bring Significant, possibly major accumulations with lots of wind behind it. It is not certain, but it appears someone in the Upper Midwest from Minnesota or Iowa east New York State could be dealing with high snowfall chances with wind. Behind the storm a very cold arctic airmass follows it and looks to impact the Upper Midwest. This airmass has the potential to bring near zero degree highs for our area and lows well below zero. More on this in the upcoming days.
Very wintry looking front yard Dec 4th with new landscape shrubs from last summer.
A strong Alberta clipper system hit the Upper Midwest this weekend, with the edge of it effecting Western and Northwest Wisconsin. This system which was unusually strong for a clipper had a thin snow band that stretched from North Dakota though Illinois all the way as far south as Northern Tennessee! The storm left up to half a foot in parts of our the local area, while parts of Minnesota that were in the middle of the band reported well over a foot with a report of 13 inches West of the Twin Cities! In our my brother estimated 6.50" fell in River Falls and the official report had the highest report in the area at 5 inches in Baldwin. Snowcovered Boxwood bush December 4th
Snow started in Southwest parts of the local area by 4PM, but took awhile to start in other places, it did not start at my location until around 6:30 to 7pm, the air was so dry it wasn't reaching the ground, but when it did it became moderate to heavy. I was looking out the windows where I work it was as quick as one time I looked out I saw nothing, but then the next minute there was moderate snow falling. Me and a gas station worker from the store shoveled the walkway at 11:30pm Friday night and by the time we had the entire thing cleared the side where we started was lightly covered again. Although a lot of shovel was involved, this snow seemed to be the perfect type of snowfall, winds were clam, and the snow was fluffy so if fell gently and was very easy to measure and shovel. I measured 3 inches for a storm total at my location, with a water content of 0.16" making the snowpack of 6.0 inches, which should make local snow-mobilers happy or people planning on coming to the area for snow-fun.
Snowfall reports Saturday
Areas in St Croix County had the highest snowfall accumulation, There 5 inches or more fell, especially in the River Falls area. North of there snow totals began to become less in Polk and Barron and Western Burnett counties with mainly 2-3 inch reports, but really cut off to a inch in or less for totals when I looked in Northeast Burnett and Washburn counties. This snowfall brought a good blanket of snow to southern parts of the area, this means the entire local area is covered in a good cover of snow.
A strong clipper system will cross the Upper Midwest and bring heavy snow to parts of the region, a large stripe where significant accumulations are likely in parts of Central Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa and far Western and Southern Wisconsin. Minor accumulations a likely north and south of this area. Arctic air will dive south behind the storm bring a cold rest of the weekend.
Local View
Note: I've made changed to the forecast totals due to the models showing a slight shift to the south. I've dropped totals over Central and Southern areas.
Attention for our local area is turned to the strong clipper system mentioned above because of it's potential to bring winter storm value accumulations to parts of our area. It will be a quick moving system and totals will pile up fast before snow ends. Friday will start of partly to mostly cloudy highs in the low 20s, before becoming all cloudy in the afternoon. Snow will start off light late Friday during the day, then it will likely become quite heavy Friday night, especially for southwestern parts of the local area Snow, moderate to heavy at times will last through the night Friday and into Saturday Morning, then Light snow will taper to flurries by mid morning Saturday, and much colder air will begin to user in. Skies will clear late Saturday, and lows will fall to the low single digits, and some places will fall below zero. Sunday Arctic Air will be in place and even with sunny skies, highs will struggle to reach the low to mid 10s. Sunday Night will likely be the coldest night of the season so far, with low temps falling to the low singles digits to just below zero
Snowfall Accumulations
Right now it appears the highest snow totals will be across the Southwest and Southern sections of the local 6 county area area. Places in St Croix County, possibly extending into Southwest Polk and Dunn Counties will have to potential to see 4-8" with amounts up to 9 inches not out of the question for communities that are in the far southwest sections of St Croix County like Hudson, and River Falls. North and east of this area minor accumulations will fall, with 2 up to 3 inches are possible for all locations in Polk, Barron, Southwest Burnett and Northern Dunn counties, this includes my location. Even with the 2-4 inch totals for this area, amounts as high as 5 inches will be possible along or just north of the Orange line above. Finally 1-3 inches are possible north of the dark blue line above for Northeast Burnett and Washburn counties. The snow type will be light and fluffy since temperatures will be in the low to mid 20s for the entire duration of the event, and it will easily pile up since wind will not be strong. Effects to people with this system will likely be high because the area that will get the heaviest snow has not yet seen this much snow accumulation so far this season. People in the area should prepare for heavy snowfall and significant snowfall accumulations especially in St Croix County.
Friday, Partly to mostly cloudy becoming cloudy. Light snow developing in last in the afternoon. Highs in the low 20s Friday Night, Snow, some could be moderate to heavy at times especially in southwest areas. Lows in the mid 10s.
Saturday, Snow early tapering to flurries by mid morning. Storm total snowfall accumulations 5-8 inches in the Southwest areas 3-5 in Central and Eastern areas and 1-3 in Far northeast areas. Highs in the mid 20s Saturday Night, Clearing and Cold lows in the low single digits.
Sunday, Cold! Sunny Skies with highs in the low to mid 10s. Sunday Night, Clear and Cold! Lows in the low single digits to just below zero.
Monday, Sunny and Cold! Highs in the mid teens. Monday Night, Clear and Cold! Lows in the low single digits to just below zero.
Looking Ahead
Weather stays dry and cold through about Wednesday of next week before warmer air finally starts to move back in. Thursday looks a bit warmer and dry. Then Friday the 10th a clipper system appears to move in dropping light accumulations and bringing another shot of cold air behind it by Saturday the 11th. This appears to be short lived because a significant warm- up is showing up just 2 days beyond this for Monday the 13th, then cold air comes right back down by the 14th Snow is possible. The rest of the model shows a slow warm up once again before more snowy systems move into the region. This will definitely be changing to stay tuned to later forecasts.
Moderate rain which fell December 30th
Showing how this area wind whipped by my house became bare of snow
List of reported high temperatures
Local View
Front of the house showing bushes barely above the snow Dec 12
Significant snow and blowing snow Dec 11
Significant front yard drift
Me standing next to a drift by the Garage
My dog clearing the "mountain" of snow Dec 12
Tractor with snow blower Dec 12
