textproduct: La Crosse

KEY MESSAGES

- Some light snow north is expected Saturday north of Interstate 94. Snowfall amounts will range from a trace to a couple of tenths.

- A wintry mix of snow and freezing rain/drizzle is expected Sunday afternoon and night.

- Another wintry mix is expected on Monday night and Tuesday as light freezing rain/drizzle transitions to rain.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 223 PM CST Fri Jan 2 2026

Tonight and Saturday

A shortwave trough will move southeast through Minnesota, Wisconsin tonight and the Great Lakes on Saturday. Much of the initial lift with this system will go toward saturation with snow likely developing north of Interstate 94 somewhere between 6 AM and 9 AM Saturday. The soundings show that 100 to 150 mb of the temperature profile will be on the warmer edge of the dendritic growth zone, so thinking snow to liquid ratios of around 13 to 1. This should amount to a trace to a couple tenths of an inch of snow. High temperatures will range from the mid- teens to mid-20s. The coldest temperatures will be found along and north of Interstate 94.

Sunday Afternoon and Night

As an upper level ridge builds to the west and northwest, the active storm track will shift more west into our area for Sunday afternoon and night. In addition, it will bring warmer air into the region. As a result, the next shortwave trough will likely bring a mix of freezing rain and snow to the area. While the warm nose does not get much above freezing, the lack of ice aloft will result in freezing rain/drizzle for areas south of Interstate 94. DESI has up to a 25% chance of light freezing rain in southeast Minnesota, and west-central and southwest Wisconsin. This threat looks to be up to 3 hours. Accumulations will range from a glaze to up to 0.05 inches. Meanwhile, along and north of Interstate 94, the precipitation will likely start of as snow and then there looks to be a loss of ice aloft which would be a transition to freezing drizzle. A few models even hint that some sleet might even mix in at times. Snow totals will range from a dusting near Interstate 94 to 1.5 inches in eastern Taylor County. High temperatures will be in the 20s.

Monday Night into Tuesday

The global models are in good agreement that a shortwave trough will flatten the upper level ridge over the Dakotas on Monday and then move through our region from Monday night into Tuesday. When the precipitation moves into our area, there will be no ice aloft, so any precipitation would be in the form of freezing rain/drizzle. As the boundary layer warms on Tuesday morning, it will gradually change over to rain. High temperatures will range from the lower 30s to lower 40s.

Thursday through Friday

A broad 500 mb trough will move into the central CONUS. The main question with this system is how far east this trough will be located. This will impact the precipitation type with this system. As a result, kept rain and snow in the forecast for now.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 1143 AM CST Fri Jan 2 2026

Pesky, scattered MVFR ceilings is only main aviation concern through 02.18Z TAF period. KRST improved shortly after TAF issuance and may require a correction depending on upstream observations (KTOB).

Subsequent MVFR ceilings expected Saturday morning, again spreading from west to east.

ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WI...None. MN...None. IA...None.