GRAND RAPIDS — The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for much of northern Minnesota Tuesday, April 4, through Thursday, April 6, with heavy mixed precipitation expected, including 3 to 14 inches of snow and ice accumulation.
The conversation with regular KAXE contributor Bob "Tornado Bob" Conzemius began with confusion about the prediction models forecasting freezing rain — which is rare in the Grand Rapids region, according to Conzemius.
The winter storm event has a fair bit of uncertainty, Conzemius said. The spring system appears likely to produce severe weather and thunderstorm activity to the south.
“I’ve looked at the models and forecasts and they tend to wildly over predict snowfall amounts nowadays,” Conzemius said.
Freezing rain comes down liquid and then freezes, making roads slippery, while sleet bounces off and accumulates. This rain comes from the same large-scale weather system arriving from the Gulf of Mexico.
Conzemius added yet another element to the conversation: the prospect of brown snow.
“I’ve looked at the models and forecasts and they tend to wildly over predict snowfall amounts nowadays."Bob "Tornado Bob" Conzemius
“It could be reddish-brown because the winds of the system could lift dirt out of places like Kansas and Oklahoma,” he said.
The high plains, like the Grand Rapids area, may be in the position to receive this brown snow. This will be good news for melting, as it absorbs more sunlight.
From winter storms to tornadoes, the conversation also addressed temperatures and the maple sap run. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said sap runs best when daytime temperatures are in the high 30s and 40s and overnight temperatures are freezing. According to Conzemius and based on those figures, the sap run should be at the peak right now, which isn’t much. The temperature forecast doesn’t look great for sap, as warm temperatures are ahead, he said.
The Grand Rapids area is “right on the gradient between almost nothing and some heavier snow to the northwest,” Conzemius said.
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