Moderating Temps...Light Snow Sunday/Monday

After a cold first couple weeks of December, temps have warmed up into the mid 20's, and look to remain in the upper teens/mid 20's range for the next few days. A small, fast moving system, also called an "Alberta Clipper" looks to bring some light snow to the area on Sunday into Monday. I think that areas south and east of the Twin Cities (pretty much the southeastern corner of the state) will see the best chance at some minor accumulations, but really a trace to 2 inches seems likely for most of the area.

As mentioned before, temps look to stay somewhat seasonal for the next couple days, but the end of the week is looking quite interesting. For the past couple days, the models have been showing a large area of low pressure forming in the southern US, then moving NE towards the area. If this thing pans out the way it is being shown now, this would be a very significant winter storm for the plains, including parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The forecast models haven't come to an agreement yet on the placement/strength of it, with the GFS being the most sporadic of the models, and the European (ECMWF) being the most consistent. In fact, the National Weather Service said that if the consistent European model pans out, some areas could see a foot or more of snow by Christmas morning. It is something to watch of the next couple days. Like last time, winds will be an issue as the low passes, so the potential is there for a snowy, blustery Christmas. Below is the European's placement of the low Christmas morning.