418
FXUS63 KDLH 041942
AFDDLH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
242 PM CDT SAT APR 4 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- SNOW AND MIXED PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING.
- SNOW SHOWERS ARE LIKELY SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. A FEW
SNOW SQUALLS ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY LATE AFTERNOON AND NIGHT.
- TEMPERATURES WARM UP MIDWEEK WITH OCCASIONAL RAIN/SNOW
CHANCES INTO NEXT WEEKEND.
DISCUSSION
ISSUED AT 135 PM CDT SAT APR 4 2026
CURRENT CONDITIONS - WRAPPING UP THE STORM:
THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER IS APPROXIMATELY OVERHEAD OF THE TWIN
PORTS AT THIS HOUR. THE HEAVIER SNOW BAND LINGERS TO OUR WEST IN
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND HAS PUSHED NORTH INTO ONTARIO AFTER
BRINGING US OUR SNOW THIS MORNING. NORTHWEST WISCONSIN DID SEE
PLENTY OF ICE WITH MANY REPORTS AROUND OR APPROACHING A QUARTER
OF AN INCH. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME HIGHER SNOWFALL TOTALS >6"
NORTH OF THE IRON RANGE. AREAS IN-BETWEEN, HOWEVER, HAVE NOT
SEEN VERY IMPRESSIVE AMOUNTS OF EITHER ICE OR SNOW WITH
WIDESPREAD ~1 TO 2 INCH REPORTS OF ESSENTIALLY "CONCRETE"
SNOW/SLEET/ICE.
WRAPAROUND SNOW SHOWERS WILL PIVOT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING AND MAY DEPOSIT A FEW MORE INCHES OF SNOW, THOUGH
ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS WILL BE MORE LOCALIZED AND SOME PLACES MAY
NOT SEE MUCH MORE SNOW. WE HAVE GRADUALLY BEEN ENDING HEADLINES
ACROSS NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AS TEMPERATURES HAVE WARMED ABOVE
FREEZING, AND ADDITIONAL HEADLINES MAY BE ENDED EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON AS CONDITIONS GRADUALLY IMPROVE FROM SOUTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST.
WE WILL GET INTO A NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME AFTER THE LOW PASSES
THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. DRY AIR WILL BE MOVING IN FAIRLY QUICKLY
THIS EVENING, BUT WE MAY HAVE A SHORT FEW-HOUR WINDOW WHERE SOME
LAKE AND TERRAIN ENHANCED SNOW MAY DROP A FEW ADDITIONAL INCHES
OF SNOW FOR THE SOUTH SHORE. OTHERWISE, EXPECT IMPROVING
CONDITIONS.
SUNDAY INTO MONDAY - SNOW SHOWER AND SNOW SQUALL POTENTIAL:
A TRAILING UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO PASS THROUGH SUNDAY
AFTERNOON FROM THE NORTHWEST. WE WILL SEE A LITTLE MOISTURE
BOOST OUT AHEAD OF THIS ALONG WITH SOME STEEP LOW-LEVEL LAPSE
RATES. WE SHOULD END UP WITH SOME CONVECTIVE SNOW SHOWERS AS A
RESULT. WE COULD SEE A FEW OF THESE SNOW SHOWERS REACH SNOW
SQUALL INTENSITY WITH BRIEF 1/4 MILE VISIBILITY. WINDS ARE NOT
LOOKING OVERLY STRONG AND TEMPERATURES WILL PROBABLY BE ABOVE
FREEZING DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS, SO NOT ALL VARIABLES ARE IN
PLAY FOR A SNOW SQUALL EVENT. IN ADDITION, WE WON'T HAVE A WELL-
DEFINED FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO WORK WITH, SO ANY SNOW SQUALLS WILL
BE SOMEWHAT RANDOM IN LOCATION AND TIMING. AS TEMPERATURES START
TO DIP BELOW FREEZING AFTER SUNSET, WE SHOULD RETAIN CONDITIONS
FAVORABLE FOR SNOW SHOWERS FOR SEVERAL HOURS INTO THE NIGHT AS
THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH SWINGS THROUGH. THE TIMEFRAME FROM AROUND
5 PM TO MIDNIGHT WILL LIKELY BE THE BEST CHANCE FOR ANY SNOW
SQUALLS WITH TEMPERATURES COOLING ENOUGH TO POSE A POTENTIAL
TRAVEL HAZARD. ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE PRETTY
LOCALIZED, BUT AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW COULD FALL FOR AREAS WHERE
SNOW SHOWERS OR SNOW SQUALLS MAY DEVELOP. WE MAY SEE THESE SNOW
SHOWERS LINGER IN NORTHWEST WISCONSIN INTO MONDAY, PARTIALLY
AIDED BY SOME LAKE-ENHANCEMENT, BUT ALSO BY ANOTHER TROUGH
PASSING BY ALOFT.
EXTENDED - TUESDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND:
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD SETTLE IN MONDAY NIGHT, AND WE'LL
BE LOOKING AT SOME CHILLY OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS
ABOVE ZERO. EXPECT SOME QUICK RECOVERY INTO THE 30S AND 40S BY
THE AFTERNOON AS SOUTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPS ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE
HIGH. EXPECT QUIET WEATHER ON TUESDAY, BUT IT'S LOOKING LIKE A
CLIPPER WILL MAKE ITS WAY TOWARDS THE NORTHLAND TUESDAY NIGHT
INTO WEDNESDAY. WITH WARMER AIR, THIS WILL LIKELY BE A RAIN/SNOW
SITUATION, WITH RAIN MORE LIKELY DURING THE DAY AND SNOW MIXING
IN AT NIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW SHOULD BE PRETTY MINIMAL, BUT
WE WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON IT BECAUSE SOME LIGHT
ACCUMULATING SNOW MAY BE POSSIBLE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THIS,
WHICH RIGHT NOW WOULD PUT IT IN ONTARIO. IF THE CLIPPER TRACKS
SOUTH, THIS COULD IMPACT NORTHEAST MINNESOTA. MOST LIKELY,
THOUGH, WEDNESDAY WILL PROBABLY END UP BEING PRETTY WARM WITH
HIGHS IN THE 50S AND LOW 60S FOR EAST-CENTRAL MINNESOTA INTO
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.
THE PATTERN AFTER THE MID-WEEK CLIPPER LOOKS RELATIVELY BENIGN.
WE COULD SEE ANOTHER CLIPPER PASS THROUGH SOMETIME AROUND
FRIDAY-SATURDAY. IN GENERAL, THE UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN IS LOOKING
ZONAL, SO NO MAJOR SYSTEMS AND WE SHOULD SEE TEMPERATURES WARM
UP ENOUGH TO MELT OFF THE NEW SNOW WE'RE GETTING RIGHT NOW.
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/
ISSUED AT 1252 PM CDT SAT APR 4 2026
MIXED MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING, BUT WITH SOME GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED AS LOW
PRESSURE MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST AND SNOW TAPERS OFF. ENOUGH
DRY AIR MAY MOVE IN LATER TONIGHT AT INL AND POSSIBLY HIB FOR
A FEW HOURS OF VFR CONDITIONS. SOME RADIATIONAL FOG MAY BE
POSSIBLE AT INL DURING THE MORNING IF SKIES CLEAR ENOUGH. THERE
WILL BE ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST
ON SUNDAY, AND A BIT MORE MOISTURE ALONG WITH COLD AIR MOVING IN
WILL ALLOW FOR MVFR CEILINGS TO REDEVELOP SUNDAY MORNING
WHEREVER THEY MIGHT HAVE CLEARED OUT. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS ARE
POSSIBLE AT INL AT THE TAIL END OF THE PERIOD SUNDAY. EXPECT
SOME WIND SHIFTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS LOW PRESSURE
DEPARTS, AND THEN NORTHWESTERLY WINDS THROUGH THE PERIOD.
MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/
ISSUED AT 1021 AM CDT SAT APR 4 2026
SOME HEADLINE CHANGES WITH THIS UPDATE. WINDS ARE BELOW GALE
FORCE FOR MOST AREAS, SO WIDESPREAD DOWNGRADES TO SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY HAVE BEEN ISSUED. GALE WARNINGS WILL REMAIN FROM
TACONITE HARBOR TO GRAND PORTAGE UNTIL THIS AFTERNOON AS SOME
STRONGER GUSTS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THERE. AS WINDS SWITCH
NORTHWESTERLY TONIGHT, EXPECT GUSTS TO AROUND 25 KT TO REMAIN
UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING, ESPECIALLY IN THE OUTER APOSTLE ISLANDS TO
SAXON HARBOR.
FOR THE OPEN WATER DISCUSSION, REFER TO THE NWS MARQUETTE AREA
FORECAST DISCUSSION AT WEATHER.GOV/MQT.
DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MN...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 1 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR MNZ011-012-020-
021.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR MNZ010-
018.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR
MNZ019-037.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR MNZ025-
026-033>036-038.
WI...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR
WIZ001.
MARINE...GALE WARNING UNTIL 4 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR LSZ140-141.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 1 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR LSZ142.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR LSZ142>147.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR LSZ148.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT SUNDAY FOR LSZ150.
DISCUSSION...JDS
AVIATION...JDS
MARINE...JDS
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page