Cody Matz

After a couple of days with temperatures in the mid to upper 30s, you’d think our snowpack would be almost gone by now. If you’ve lived in Minnesota more than a couple of winters, you likely know that is just not going to be the case. But if temperatures get above freezing, why does it take so long for our snowpack to melt? Well, the answer is surprisingly complex.

Now that we are in December, we are entering the coldest couple of months for temperatures on average in North America. That means the lack of any sunshine around the North Pole allows the true arctic air to develop over the next few weeks.  Well, as we know, every so often, this air is dislodged from northern Canada and heads south into the Upper Midwest.  Well, it looks like that is about to happen for the first time this season.

With over 14 inches of snow during our last meteorological fall month, this is now the snowiest November in the Twin Cities since 1997.

It was the 10th day so far in November where measurable precipitation has fallen. This time, nearly a half inch of rain with a touch of snow at the tail end. But it was also the storm that pushed us over the edge. For just the third time in nearly a century and a half, the Twin Cities has recorded more than 40 inches of liquid precipitation (which includes melted snow). What might be even more amazing though is that this is the 2nd time in the last 5 years we’ve completed that feat, with the previous record coming in 1911.

While we finally saw a little sunshine in the Twin Cities Wednesday, our next storm is pushing into the Upper Midwest and will likely give many of us some rain with a dash of snow.

So far for the month of November, we have seen temperatures more reminiscent of January, more cloud cover than any of us want and some occasional snow. But, that snow has yet to total an inch or more of accumulation in any individual event in the Twin Cities, unlike many other spots across the Upper Midwest.

Minnesota has yet to see an above average day in the month of November, but misery loves company right? Well, many areas east of the Rockies have been in the same shape over the last couple of weeks. But more so in the last couple of days. As a cold front pushed out of northern Canada late in the weekend, another shot of true November arctic air came with it. The leading edge pushed through Minnesota on Sunday and continue to move south and eastward all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. Temperatures plummeted 20 to 50 degrees and have now broken more than 500 cold records in the last several days and a few more could fall before we are “officially” out of this very chilly pattern.

After one of the colder Halloweens in recent years, our arctic feel hasn’t really given up. With a persistent northerly flow in much of the central and eastern U.S. over the last couple of weeks, consistently ushering in air straight from northern Canada, it’s been a pretty bone chilling end to October and start to November. And now it looks like it will easily be the coldest first half of the month since that fateful Halloween blizzard in 1991. The most amazing part about that feat is that it’s been done with very little, if any snow on the ground.

To say that the start of November has been cold is an understatement. Temperatures so far this month have been averaging nearly 9 degrees below average… and it’s about to get even colder. A true Arctic air mass will be pushing into the Upper Midwest on Sunday and will allow temperatures to plunge to levels rarely seen in the first half of the month. Potentially cold enough to set some record cold high temperatures.

Hope you chose a warm costume this year because it’s about to get even colder. Outside of our glorious 3-day stretch of mid to upper 60s this past weekend, it’s been a fairly cool month so far. Although, this may pale in comparison to what’s potentially on the horizon.