Bloomington, Minnesota 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

437
FXUS63 KMPX 150035
AFDMPX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
635 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Cold continues tonight with lows in the single digits.

- Periods of light snow Thursday afternoon through Friday.
  Accumulations up to 3-4" across western Wisconsin.

- Gusty winds accompany the light snow on Friday & could lead
  to low visibility from blowing snow, especially in open areas.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 303 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Tonight... Quiet weather continues with surface high pressure
sprawled across the region. It`ll be another cold night with
lows in the single digits and teens. Winds will be much lighter
than last night, keeping wind chills from dropping too far below
zero.

Thursday through Saturday AM... A deepening trough over the
Great Lakes will direct several shortwaves across the Upper
Midwest. This will lead to a few rounds of light snow, starting
Thursday morning in western & central Minnesota and lasting as
late as early Saturday morning across western WI. The first
round along the frontal passage looks relatively weaker, and may
not fully materialize until reaching east-central MN and
western WI around mid-late morning. About a half to 1 inch is
possible. Forecast soundings show ice nuclei becoming limited
aloft (within the dry slot of the system) Thursday afternoon.
Should lower levels remain saturated, there will potential for
light drizzle or freezing drizzle. We do not expect any
noticeable ice accretion (outside of colder, elevated surfaces),
and currently favor a lull in precipitation until Thursday
evening as wrap- around showers spread southeast from the
Dakotas and northwest MN. A burst of heavier snow is possible
during the evening commute, especially for areas near and north
of a line stretching from Morris, MN towards the Twin Cities
metro and much of western WI.

After that initial push of snow Thursday evening, precipitation
may become more on and off (snow showers) throughout the day
Friday. With northwesterly winds increasing behind the front,
this may lead to periods of low visibility from blowing snow,
especially in open areas across western & central MN. It is
worth noting that these cold air advection set ups tend to
produce wind gusts on the higher end of model output, which
would mean to expect up to around 40 to 50 mph for west-central
and southern MN.

After all is said and done, the greatest snow amounts of around
2 to 4 inches are still favored to fall across western WI.
Lesser amounts can be expected for eastern MN, around 1 to 2
inches, and generally an inch or less elsewhere. It may be hard
for some areas to realize any snow accumulation, especially
west-central and southern MN, with how strong winds will be
Friday. A low end Winter Weather Advisory was considered for
portions of western WI, however with amounts falling over a
longer period and only topping out around that 3-4" mark, we
have opted to not issue one at this time. What would change that
is if amounts trend higher or if the impact to travel is
expected to be worse. A separate Winter Weather Advisory may be
need for the impacts from blowing snow on Friday for west-
central and southern MN.

Saturday PM through Wednesday... Cold remains the main story
heading into next week. Highs will likely stay in the single
digits or teens all the way through the middle of next week,
with the coldest days on Saturday and Monday. Winds remain
elevated, which could keep wind chills around 10 to 20 below
even during the day both Saturday and Monday. A weak system
could bring light snow or flurries on Sunday, though QPF is
virtually zero. This more just gives us a day of relief from the
frigid temperatures Saturday and Monday.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY/...
Issued at 529 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Very few changes from the 14/18z TAF set. NW winds are
diminishing and will run 10kts or less from initialization on
out, with a period of light/variable winds overnight before
shifting to a southerly direction at around 10kts around
daybreak. Winds will continue to veer as the day progresses,
mainly in response to a cold frontal passage during the day.
Winds will run W to NW Thursday afternoon-evening with speeds
increasing to 10-15kts with gusts 15-25kts. The cold front will
be responsible for ceilings arriving overnight through sunrise
in the mid-levels, eventually dropping to MVFR levels Thursday
afternoon in conjunction with intermittent -SN developing. At
this point, with the snow being on the more dry side and powdery
with very light intensities, have kept visibilities no lower
than 6sm. Cannot rule out a few periods of 4-5sm visibility but
confidence is on the lower side of such occurrence at this
point. Snow will continue in an intermittent fashion beyond the
timeframe of this TAF period, with overall accumulations in the
1-2" range on the MN side from midday Thu to midday Fri, while
WI TAFs looks to run in the 2-4" range during the same time.

KMSP...There is a small chance of narrow band of very light snow
around daybreak, give or take an hour or so, but the expectation
is that the atmosphere will be too dry to have snow reach the
surface at that point. The better saturation will occur by
midday, so have maintained the start time of -SN into MSP at 16z
with intermittent rounds of light snow thereafter. Even with the
long duration mention, the intensity will be quite light and
accumulation through the afternoon into the evening will be
about a half inch or less. Thus, have kept visibility no lower
than 6sm at this point.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/
FRI...MVFR/-SN likely, chance IFR. Wind NW 10-15G25 kts.
SAT...VFR chc MVFR/-SN. Wind NW 10-15G25 kts.
SUN...VFR chc MVFR/-SN. Wind SW 10-15G25 kts.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...None.
WI...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...BED
AVIATION...JPC