Incoming! Minnesota’s First Measurable Snow Of The Season Expected This Week

Ready or not, here it comes!

Minnesota's first snow of the season is in the forecast this week. Now, the good news is that it shouldn't be widespread heavy snow across the state, but it's a sure sign of the changing seasons!

After a very pleasant Labor Day Weekend across Minnesota, temperatures are set to plunge for the second half of the first week of September, with daytime highs in the 50s. It's the overnight low temperatures that are bringing the threat of snow to parts of the state.

How cold is it going to get?

Weather models are showing spots in Northern Minnesota could sink into the 30s in the early morning hours of Thursday, as low as right around 32 degrees on the Gunflint Trail to the Northwest of Grand Marais.

READ MORE: When we could expect peak fall colors this fall in Northern Minnesota

The map below shows widespread 40s (the darker blues/purple colors) with places in the 30s shaded in light blue.

Some of the temperatures shown in that model include 35 degrees in Grand Marais (away from the lake) and over in Roseau, 36 degrees in Isabella, 37 degrees in Bemidji, 39 degrees in Ely, Meadowlands, Virginia, and Embarrass, and 30 degrees in Duluth away from the lake.

Where could it snow? How much could fall?

While there is a slight chance of snow as far south as the Twin Ports area, away from the lake where it will get colder. The greatest chance is in the higher elevations and away from Lake Superior in far Northeastern Minnesota.

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A few different weather models highlight a similar area shown in this image below, with an area just east of Ely to near the tip of Minnesota, north of Grand Marais.

How much snow could fall? With temperatures expected right near the freezing point and uncertainty about the location and amount of precipitation, it could vary. It's possible it all just falls as a cold (or slushy) rain.

Then again, some models point to a few inches. This model below sees a top snowfall potential of about 4 inches northwest of Grand Marais, with anywhere from a dusting to a couple of inches possible in the other shaded areas.

If that model is right, just consider yourself lucky. The same model shows nearly 7 inches west of Thunder Bay and even more to the north.

The good news is it is expected to warm back up a little as we head into the weekend and for next week. Don't worry, we aren't fast-forwarding to winter!