Likely record warmth Sunday, with widespread rain Sunday and Christmas

Here’s your Wednesday evening December 20th, 2023 forecast from Evening Meteorologist Wren Clair

Good evening! Today was another lovely day with mostly sunny skies and highs that reached back into the low-40s in the Twin Cities. Cloud cover increasing this evening, and we end up with mostly cloudy skies overnight. Temperatures tonight again very warm, actually closer to or slightly above average high temperatures for mid-December. The Twin Cities will have low in the low-30s and upper-20s, with most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin waking up to temperatures in the mid to upper-20s.

Thursday marks the start of a cloudy stretch of weather across the Upper Midwest. Mostly cloudy skies stay in place tomorrow through about the middle of next week. High temperatures are in the low-40s again tomorrow, with winds that are breezy at times out of the east and east-southeast. Drizzle is possible late afternoon tomorrow, as well as overnight into early Friday morning. Some freezing drizzle could mix in overnight Thursday into early Friday, but the chance for that is more likely north of the metro. Still I’d be cautious of slick spots, especially north of I-94, overnight Thursday into Friday morning. Roads may look wet, but it could be a very thin accumulation of freezing drizzle.

Temperatures continue to warm Friday, with highs in the mid-40s. The vast majority of your Friday is dry, and I don’t expect widespread early Friday morning drizzle, so most of us stay dry the entire day.

High temperatures Saturday are near 50° with dry skies. High temperatures Sunday are likely in the low-50s, which would break the record high of 46° for the Twin Cities (set back in 1957). Widespread rainfall develops late overnight Saturday into Sunday. Widespread rainfall is looking likely Sunday Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. Snow is possible Christmas Eve into Christmas Day morning across north/north-central Minnesota from about Morris to Alexandria to Brainerd to the North Shore. A second chance for snow northward arrives Monday night into Tuesday morning, but again that’s mainly to the north and west of the Twin Cities.

You’ll want to stay up to speed with the forecast, as there’s still some variation with timing and track, and in turn snow potentials Sunday night through Tuesday morning. Right now I expect relatively easy travel weather across the Upper Midwest this holiday weekend, with rainfall totals between 0.75″-1.25″ across the Twin Cities and most of Minnesota and Wisconsin

Have a wonderful night!

Wren