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Freezing Rain, Sloppy Snow Before Big January Thaw

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Before a January thaw and spring-like temperatures arrive in Minnesota, a storm system will swing up from the Great Plains Monday, bringing a wintry mix to the southern part of the state.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for southern Minnesota, from the Interstate 90 corridor to the southern edge of the metro area. Around midday, the storm system will surge up into the state, bringing freezing rain and sleet to much of southern Minnesota. By the late afternoon, the system will clip the Twin Cities.

The National Weather Service says drivers should expect slippery roads Monday evening.

WCCO-TV meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says ice accumulations will mainly be a concern in southeastern Minnesota, where communities around Rochester could see more than a tenth of an inch of accumulation. In the Twin Cities, only a glaze of ice looks to form on roads and sidewalks. Northern Minnesota and most of central Minnesota should be clear of ice.

Overnight, the freezing rain will turn to snow, and parts of southern Minnesota could see about 2 inches of sloppy, wet accumulation. The northern metro should see hardly any snow while the communities to see the highest totals will be in western Wisconsin, just east of the Twin Cities metro.

Looking ahead, a warming trend will make the rest of January feel like spring. The National Weather Service says the current forecast is calling for nine days in a row with temperatures of 32 degrees or higher. The last time we saw a stretch of such warm January weather was in 1992.

The warmup looks to kick in Tuesday, when highs will climb above freezing. By Thursday, the mercury will surge into the mid-40s, and it's possible some communities could hit 50 degrees, Augustyniak says. Such temperatures are about 20 degrees above average for this time of year.

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