Respond to prefers-color-scheme dark in app web views

Follow section front redirects in Spectrum

Enable NLP source in PCS for load testing

Switch off the News Alerts Survey Widget when we have enough responses

Poll to determine if new LUF updates are available

Allows the winning A/B test variant to be turned on without Spectrum deployment

Show infinite scrolling sections in Assembler MultiView

Show option for NLP article summaries in Action Bar

A general feature flag for Recipe Features that aren't yet released

Feature flag for media team features that aren't yet released

Use new Orca video player for preroll plugin in Spectrum

Show the snow tracker (instead of the heat tracker) on Spectrum

In a pinch, the Nationals finally find some offense

Is Pastis as good as our food critic thought? He sent spies to find out.

The Capitals, a team in transition, know what they want this offseason

Trump Media auditor charged by SEC with ‘massive fraud’

Google’s empire is massive. A judge will soon rule if it’s a monopoly.

Five tech products we actually like

Confident of victory over Ukraine, Russia exhibits Western war trophies

Two women are seeking Mexico’s presidency. But the race is about a man.

Hamas in Cairo for hostage talks as Israel briefs aid agencies on Rafah

The New York Times, alone in its outrage over access to Biden

The ‘Access Hollywood’ video cemented Trump’s air of invincibility

Stephen A. Smith would like even more of your attention

The new cure-all for vacation excess: the IV drip 

What’s the best bus to New York? We tested 5 for comfort and value.

Adaptive equipment is making national parks more inclusive

In photos: At least 39 dead as historic flooding hits southern Brazil

Sea level rise brings new era of dangerous flooding

Michael Cohen keeps broadcasting despite being a witness

Ask Amy: My boyfriend just confessed he’s almost $20,000 in debt

Miss Manners: Is it inappropriate to reach out to old girlfriends?

Carolyn Hax: Longtime friend won’t forgive being last-minute canceled for a guy

Strangers help Sesame Street puppeteer after heirloom necklace was stolen

Teen grabs wheel when driver passes out and school bus veers into traffic

Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away

The Post endorses April McClain Delaney and Tom Royals for Maryland’s 6th District

On Press Freedom Day, little to celebrate for Hong Kong’s journalists

Young Georgians want to be part of Europe. Their government is in the way.

Biden confronts campus protests; Trump hedges on accepting election results

Kristi Noem just won’t stop talking about killing her dog

Noem’s dog-killing isn’t popular, though Trump supporters are divided

Abbie Parr

Winter in the Twin Cities was shaping up to be a cakewalk. By the time winter ended on the morning of March 20, Minneapolis had only seen 14.3 inches of snow — the second least by that point in the season on record. It had also been Minneapolis’s warmest winter on record. Then Old Man Winter waltzed in at the last minute.

The city saw 8.2 inches of snow on Sunday, a record for the date and the biggest snowstorm of the winter (and technically not even occurring during the winter at all). The sudden snows plastered area roadways, and two people died among hundreds of car crashes in Minnesota, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-spring-snowstorm-road-conditions/" target="_blank">according to CBS News</a>.

After precipitation changed to rain in the Twin Cities on Monday, it turned back to snow on Tuesday, with wind gusts over 30 mph reducing visibility and “multiple accidents,” according to the National Weather Service. The forecast for 2 to 4 new inches of snow and gusty winds <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=MNZ060&warncounty=MNC053&firewxzone=MNZ060&local_place1=Minneapolis%20MN&product1=Winter+Weather+Advisory&lat=44.9778&lon=-93.265" target=_blank>prompted a winter weather advisory until 4 p.m. Tuesday.</a>

“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the Weather Service wrote. “Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.”

Through midafternoon Tuesday, <a href="https://twitter.com/paulhuttnerwx/status/1772695092999930234" target=_blank>about 3.5 inches of snow had fallen in Minneapolis</a>, bringing its storm total to 11.7 inches since Sunday.

An active weather pattern will present at least two more chances of rain and snow over the next week, with one system slated for Friday and another coming early next week.

WeatherBell

As of Tuesday afternoon, a storm system was centered over Wisconsin and was moving into Ontario. That counterclockwise-spinning storm was tugging moisture north ahead of it and whipping it around to its northwest side, resulting in bands of snow.

In Minneapolis, temperatures began dropping in the cool air “wraparound” on the storm’s back side late Tuesday morning; between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., it cooled from 33 to 26 degrees. It wasn’t long before snow was falling at 1 to 2 inches per hour, with visibility down to a quarter-mile.

In areas well north of Minneapolis, where precipitation has remained snow since Sunday, totals had eclipsed a foot. Around Duluth, about 15 to 20 inches had fallen.

Precipitation was forecast to exit Minnesota on Tuesday evening, with only a few flurries or light snow showers remaining.

The Weather Service cautioned that any wet surfaces could “flash freeze” in the frigid air spilling southward in the storm’s wake Tuesday night. Lows in the teens were predicted.

“Any wet surfaces will be at risk for freezing, so there could be some slick spots still for the Wednesday morning commute,” the Weather Service wrote.

XMacis

Minneapolis averages 37.1 inches of snow during meteorological winter — from December to February. It only got 11.1 inches. The lack of snow comes as no surprise considering Minneapolis was 10.2 degrees warmer than average during that span. That’s the city’s warmest winter by a landslide, coming in 3.4 degrees above the previous record-holder — the winter of 2001-2002. Reliable temperature records date back to 1873. Since then, average winter temperatures have warmed about 4.2 degrees.

Amid the record warmth, lakes lost their ice at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/03/22/lake-ice-out-midwest-northeast-climate/" target=_blank>record-early dates</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/02/28/midwest-lost-winter-no-snow/" target=_blank>many locals described it as a lost winter</a>.

During El Niño winters, the jet stream — a river of winds in the upper atmosphere — tends to split before reaching North America. One branch races east over the southern United States, keeping stormy weather over the Gulf and Florida. The other branch surges far north into Canada, allowing warmth to surge north over the contiguous states. The Great Lakes have been largely ice-free as well; the unseasonable mildness even allowed<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/02/09/wisconsin-first-february-tornado-climate/" target=_blank> several tornadoes to touch down in February as far north as Wisconsin.</a>

The only real snowstorm that Minneapolis got this winter came on Valentine’s Day, when 6.9 inches fell. Since then the quiet pattern had resumed — until this week, when heavy snows and strong winds walloped the Plains and much of the central United States.

That’s due in large part to a dramatic jet stream dip, which has allowed cold air to surge south over the central states. At the upper altitudes, a pocket of cold air, low pressure and spin aloft has been lingering, allowing more storm systems to brew.

Another jet stream dip will probably approach this upcoming weekend, leading to more storminess. Snow is predicted on Friday morning before changing to rain. The forecast then calls for another chance of rain and snow on Sunday into Monday.

Snow isn’t uncommon in the Twin Cities during spring; it averages about 8 inches in March and 4 inches in April.

Harvard University, B.A. Atmospheric Sciences

Matthew Cappucci is a meteorologist for Capital Weather Gang. He earned a B.A. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University in 2019, and has contributed to The Washington Post since he was 18. He is an avid storm chaser and adventurer, and covers all types of weather, climate science, and astronomy.

Matthew Cappucci

Minneapolis receives record snow after near record-slow winter

the-washington-post

Wintry Weather Minnesota

Extreme Weather

Climate

Capital Weather Gang

Environment

Climate Lab

Weather

washpost

Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.

Coverage of weather forecasts and weather event updates from across the nation and the world, including extreme weather and analysis of weather patterns.