Snow flurries and gusty winds for a cold Turkey Day in the Twin Cities — stay of the thin ice, too

Today’s weather in the Twin Cities brings Colder than average temperatures (average highs in the mid-30s) with afternoon highs near 30 degrees and north winds at 5-10 mph so wind chill is not a major concern today. Skies are mostly cloudy today with flurries or light snow showers but no snow accumulation expected; however, south of the Twin Cities — lnterstate 35 to the Iowa border — could have some slick spots from a light dusting of snow this afternoon and evening. It will be cloudy tonight with flurries and increasing winds from the northwest at 5-15 mph, which will cause wind chills to be uncomfortable by Thanksgiving morning — around 10 degrees — and actual air temperatures in the low 20s.

THANKSGIVING THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy with flurries and gusty, cold winds during the day and evening. Highs on Thursday are in the mid 20s, but northwest winds at 10-20 mph with 25 mph gusts will produce wind chills of 10 degrees in the morning and afternoon. Those wind chills will fall to near zero degrees by Friday morning with actual air temperature near 12 degrees and gusty northwest winds at 10-20 mph.

Friday and Saturday will be the coldest days with a cloud and sun mix, cold winds with highs around 20 degrees (wind chills 5-10 degrees) and lows pf 8-9 degrees (wind-chills Saturday and Sunday morning near 5 below zero). Cloudy and cold on Sunday with flurries at times and highs in the low 20s. Monday will still be cold with highs in the low- to mid-20s. Winds will be lighter and skies partly cloudy. Up to 1 inch of light snow is possible on Tuesday with highs in the mid-20s.

DANGEROUS THIN ICE: The recent cold temperatures this week in the Twin Cities have caused very thin ice to form on smaller lakes in the area but the ice is not safe to be on at this time. Typically it takes one week of night lows at 0 degrees or colder to produce at 4 inches of frozen lake ice. At least 4 inches of ice is needed to support an average person’s weight, and you need 12 inches of ice to support the weight of a car. Four-inch ice depth is usually not seen in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota until around the third to fourth week of December. Remember, ice is never 100% safe. Also avoid ice on moving water like streams and rivers as the ice on moving water is always unstable, no matter the temperatures. JONATHAN YUHAS