textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Moderate snow continues along the South Shore for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.

- A strong Colorado low to our south will bring heavy snow to the Northland Saturday night through Sunday, particularly in northwest Wisconsin.

- Active weather continues into next week and warmer temperatures will arrive by late week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 322 PM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

Last night's clipper is exiting northeast Minnesota this afternoon, but the South Shore remains active. A gravity wave has developed east of the Twin Ports, bringing a secondary round of moderate snow to Douglas and Bayfield counties through the rest of the day. Similar conditions are persisting for Ashland and Iron counties as winds turn to the northwest and lake effect continues into this afternoon and evening. Expect difficult travel in these areas through the evening hours.

We will get a brief break on Saturday morning before the next significant system arrives. The track for this Colorado has shifted its track even further north, increasing confidence that much of northwest Wisconsin will see a foot or more of snow by Monday morning. The highest totals, potentially over 20 inches, are forecast for areas closer to central Wisconsin, including Sawyer and Price counties. While the track is still a bit uncertain, the potential for heavy snow in these areas is high. Strong winds off Lake Superior could lead to blizzard-like conditions as well along the South Shore combined with heavy snowfall rates.

The shift north also means higher impacts for the Twin Ports and the North Shore. Lake Superior is expected to enhance snowfall in these areas, leading to increased confidence in over 6 inches of accumulation even on the northern fringe of the storm. However, if this system were to shift back south due to the track changing from model run to model run, these totals could decrease significantly once again.

Winds will gust to 35 mph, leading to blowing snow and low visibility where moderate to heavy snow occurs. And though blowing snow will linger after this system as well, it will not be quite as intense as the clipper that passed yesterday.

Snow will finally taper off on Sunday night, though lake effect will continue to linger along the South Shore through most of Monday, especially in Ashland and Iron counties.

Following the storm, a surge of arctic air will drop wind chills to near 20 below zero on Monday and Tuesday mornings. Looking ahead, a weak system moves through mid-week before a warm air mass brings much milder temperatures in the 40s for the latter half of next week.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 609 PM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

VFR expected through the TAF period. Gusty northwest winds lulling overnight and turning to the south on Saturday. Large storm arrives after this TAF period except just starts to move into KBRD towards 00Z Sat.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 322 PM CDT Fri Mar 13 2026

A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for all nearshore waters through late this evening. Northwest winds will gust to 30 knots this afternoon before easing tonight. Quiet conditions prevail on Saturday, but another strong system arrives Saturday night. Expect northeast winds to ramp up quickly after midnight with gales likely on Sunday. A Gale Watch is in effect for all of western Lake Superior waters.

For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.

DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...Winter Storm Watch from late Saturday night through late Sunday night for MNZ020-033-034-036-037. Winter Storm Warning from 1 AM Sunday to 1 AM CDT Monday for MNZ038. WI...Winter Storm Warning from 1 AM Sunday to 1 AM CDT Monday for WIZ001-006-007. Winter Storm Warning from 1 AM Sunday to 7 AM CDT Monday for WIZ002-008-009. Winter Storm Warning from 1 AM Sunday to 1 PM CDT Monday for WIZ003-004. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 PM CDT this evening for LSZ140>148-150. Gale Watch from Sunday morning through late Monday night for LSZ140>148-150. Winter Storm Watch from late Saturday night through late Sunday night for LSZ142.