Dense fog advisory through Sunday morning

We have dew point temperatures in the lower 30s, and light winds.

Those ingredients, combined with some cooling due to our remaining snow cover, are keeping dense fog over much of Minnesota overnight and Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory for central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin until noon on Sunday:

rt121adv8
NWS Twin Cities

Here are some details of the dense fog advisory, from the NWS:

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URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

852 PM CST SAT JAN 21 2017

MNZ045-052-053-060>063-WIZ014>016-023>028-221200-

/O.CON.KMPX.FG.Y.0004.000000T0000Z-170122T1800Z/

KANABEC-ISANTI-CHISAGO-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-POLK-

BARRON-RUSK-ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-CHIPPEWA-EAU CLAIRE-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF MORA, CAMBRIDGE, CENTER CITY,

MINNEAPOLIS, BLAINE, ST PAUL, STILLWATER, OSCEOLA, RICE LAKE,

LADYSMITH, HUDSON, RIVER FALLS, PRESCOTT, MENOMONIE, DURAND,

CHIPPEWA FALLS, AND EAU CLAIRE

852 PM CST SAT JAN 21 2017

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST SUNDAY...

* VISIBILITY...AREAS OF DENSE FOG PRODUCING VISIBILITY ONE

QUARTER MILE OR LESS.

* IMPACTS...LOW VISIBILITIES WILL RESULT IN DIFFICULT DRIVING

CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE

REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING...SLOW DOWN...

USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF YOU.

Periods of drizzle and scattered showers are also possible overnight and Sunday morning.

Northeastern Minnesota will see a wintry mix of freezing drizzle, light freezing rain, sleet and snow overnight and Sunday morning.

A winter weather advisory continues through this Saturday night and until 10 a.m. Sunday for much of northeastern Minnesota:

rt121advdlh6
NWS Duluth

Here are some details of the advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN

328 PM CST SAT JAN 21 2017

...SLIPPERY ROADS EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...

.PRECIPITATION MOVING ACROSS THE AREA FROM SOUTH TO NORTH TONIGHT

WILL PRODUCE A MIXTURE OF RAIN...FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW TONIGHT

AND SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHLAND. AIR AND ROAD

TEMPERATURES HAVE RISEN ABOVE FREEZING THIS AFTERNOON...BUT SHOULD

FALL AGAIN WITH SUNSET THIS EVENING...AND WHERE ROAD TEMPERATURES

GET BELOW FREEZING...ROAD CONDITIONS MAY BECOME HAZARDOUS. THE

RESULT WILL BE EXTREMELY SLIPPERY ROADS... SIDEWALKS AND PARKING

LOTS. IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST DRIVE ACROSS THE REGION...BE SURE TO

ALLOW PLENTY OF EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION SAFELY.

MNZ011-012-019>021-220730-

/O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0005.000000T0000Z-170122T1600Z/

NORTH ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-

SOUTHERN LAKE/NORTH SHORE-SOUTHERN COOK/NORTH SHORE-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ELY...ISABELLA...HIBBING...

TWO HARBORS...SILVER BAY...GRAND MARAIS

328 PM CST SAT JAN 21 2017

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST

SUNDAY...

* LOCATIONS...NORTHERN MINNESOTA...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF ELY...

ISABELLA...HIBBING...TWO HARBORS...SILVER BAY AND GRAND

MARAIS.

* TIMING...THROUGH 10 AM SUNDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...UP TO 1 INCH.

* ICE ACCUMULATIONS...A TENTH OF AN INCH OR LESS.

* IMPACTS...ROAD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE TREACHEROUS

TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING. WHILE TEMPERATURES MAY INDICATE

READINGS ABOVE FREEZING...ROAD SURFACES ARE ACTUALLY AT OR

BELOW FREEZING IN MANY AREAS. THIS WILL RESULT IN VERY SLICK

ROADS ACROSS THE ARROWHEAD...ESPECIALLY UNTREATED COUNTY AND

DIRT ROADS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MIXED PRECIPITATION MEANS A MIXTURE

OF FREEZING RAIN...SNOW AND SLEET IS EXPECTED. SMALL

ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW AND ICE ARE EXPECTED ON UNTREATED ROADS AND

SIDEWALKS. ANYONE WITH TRAVEL PLANS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR

SLIPPERY ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITY. SLOW DOWN WHEN DRIVING AND

ALLOW FOR EXTRA STOPPING DISTANCE BECAUSE YOU MAY LOSE CONTROL OF

YOUR VEHICLE IF YOU TRY TO SLOW DOWN OR STOP QUICKLY.

-Update to the dense fog advisory

The Duluth office of the National Weather Service has added much of north-central and northeastern Minnesota to the dense fog advisory until noon on Sunday:

rt121advdlh10
NWS Duluth

Northwestern Minnesota and most of central and southern Minnesota are in a dense fog advisory until noon on Sunday:

rt121adv10
NWS Twin Cities

Updated weather information is posted on the MPR news live weather blog.

You can also check with the Duluth officeTwin Cities office and La Crosse, Wis., office of the National Weather Service for weather updates.

The NWS sites have clickable maps for the forecast at your specific location.

Mild and gray Sunday

Clouds will hang over us on Sunday, even after the morning fog and drizzle diminish, and a few scattered showers will be possible.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern through Sunday:

rt121fcstsfc4
NOAA NAM model simulated radar overnight and Sunday, via tropicaltidbits

Highs Sunday will be in the mid to upper 30s:

rt122h2

Those a typical highs for early March, and our snow melt will continue.

Snow potential

There’s a good chance that central and southern Minnesota will see some snow on Tuesday and Wednesday.

NOAA’s Global Forecast System model shows a low pressure system tracking just to our south next Tuesday and Wednesday:

rt121fcstsfc3
NOAA GFS precipitation next Tuesday through midday Wednesday, via tropicaltidbits

Central and southern Minnesota could get enough snow to shovel.

We'll keep you updated.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.