textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Quick shot of snow tonight could bring a dusting to a couple inches, heaviest amounts most likely from the Brainerd Lakes to the Twin Ports.

- Another round of snow Tuesday night into Wednesday should bring some more accumulations to the I-35 corridor, Twin Ports, North Shore, and east across NW WI. Some uncertainty due to temperatures and system track, but another 1-4"+ is possible, and some Winter Weather Advisories may be needed.

- Clipper system Thursday afternoon into Friday could bring a quick punch of snow from northwest to southeast across the Northland, with some locally higher amounts due to lake enhancement along the North Shore.

- Temperatures generally slowing trend down through the week, with a freeze/thaw cycle expected through mid to late week and then mostly sub-freezing temperatures for the weekend.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 303 PM CDT Mon Mar 9 2026

A moment of calm weather this afternoon with areas of sunshine and partly cloudy skies as we briefly sit in between weather systems. Today through Wednesday, we'll find ourselves in fairly zonal flow along a frontal zone that will see disturbances run along it and produce bands of precipitation, benefiting from a robust pool of gulf moisture that continue to be advecting into the central CONUS.

TONIGHT: A band of snow currently pushing across ND should sweep eastward, entering the Northland in the Brainerd Lakes this evening and then dropping a quick accumulation of snow from there to Lake Superior. A band of 1-3" is possible in this area, highest along the higher terrain from Duluth to Two Harbors as winds become northeasterly off Lake Superior and give that area a little extra boost. The majority of this round of snow should be over by sunrise Tuesday.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY: Winds remain breezy out of the northeast off of Lake Superior tomorrow, which may lead to some ongoing on/off snow through the day for the head of the lake. A second band of snow is expected to push up into central MN/northern WI Tuesday evening, forced by a weak but broad low pressure system tracking through northern Illinois. Latest trends from most guidance has trended some of this snow back into our area, with at least light accumulations possible for much of the CWA. The highest amounts in excess of several inches are most likely in parts of NW WI - Ashland, Iron, and Price County have the best chance of 2-4"+ and may need a Winter Weather Advisory. However, the northeast wind off the lake could lead to a secondary band of higher accumulations for the North Shore and Twin Ports (1-3"). There is still some lingering uncertainty with this system track, temperatures, and mesoscale features so have held off on any headlines at this point.

THURSDAY- FRIDAY: Following troughing behind the Wednesday system, most global models are in agreement that a powerful clipper should be able to break out of the AR flow hitting the PacNW and barrel into the Midwest/Great Lakes region. However there are discrepancies on the timing of how this system strengthens and exactly where it tracks as it does so. Should variables align that its producing precipitation over us, a quick hit of a widespread 2-5"+ is certainly in the cards, with locally higher amounts possible for the North Shore. This time period is another to monitor for possible Winter Weather Advisories and maybe a Winter Storm Warning along the North Shore, should current trends hold.

WEEKEND: There is the potential for a strong Colorado Low system to be moving through the plains and into the Great Lakes Saturday into Sunday. Beyond being able to state that, there isn't much further agreement on exactly where this system would track. Almost all guidance is to our south, with minimal mixed precipitation concerns for our area. There is the chance that this system could shift far enough south such that the Northland sees little to no impact. However, if it does track far enough north that MN/WI were in the occluded quadrant, the ingredients for a powerful winter storm with heavy accumulating snow and strong winds could in place.

Outside of all these systems, we'll see temperatures slowly trend downwards through the week. Tonight much of the area should see a return to below 32F which may make for some slick spots tomorrow morning as melt freezes. A diurnal freeze/thaw will likely occur through mid to late week and then much of the area may fall below freezing for several days through the weekend and into next week. Spring lovers shouldn't despair however, longer range guidance shows the potential for a potential thaw to return through next week.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 642 PM CDT Mon Mar 9 2026

A band of snowfall moves over the region this evening and tonight before exiting eastward through north-central Wisconsin early Tuesday morning. Expect periods of IFR visibility from the heaviest snowfall, mainly 03 to 09Z tonight. As the snowfall sets up, MVFR ceilings are very likely to last even into the Tuesday afternoon hours. By the end of this TAF period, the next clipper may create snowfall category reductions...although more likely just after 00Z Wed.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 303 PM CDT Mon Mar 9 2026

West-northwest winds calm and turn to come from the northeast into Tuesday. These northeast winds build through the day Tuesday with some gusts near 20 knots possible for the head of the lake and Apostle Islands. A Small Craft Advisory has been issued. Winds remain northeast through Wednesday but should taper in strength. Fairly calm conditions expected Thursday before a round of stronger easterly winds pick up into Friday. Small Craft Advisories are likely for Friday and Gale Warnings may be needed.

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

DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...None. WI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from 1 PM to 10 PM CDT Tuesday for LSZ143>148-150.