FXUS63 KDLH 201950 AFDDLH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 250 PM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - A messy wintry system will move through tonight through Saturday. A trace to one inch of snow is expected, highest near Grand Portage. - A wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, and ice pellets late tonight into Saturday night for the Arrowhead and northwest Wisconsin could leave a light ice glaze, leading to hazardous morning driving conditions. - A colder air mass arrives Sunday, followed by an active pattern of clippers bringing more mixed precipitation chances early next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 229 PM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026 A fast moving clipper system is set to dive southeast across the area late tonight through Saturday. This will bring a quick hit of mixed precipitation from north to south. Forecast models have trended notably warmer with this system. Warm air has pushed further north, which has drastically lowered our expected snowfall totals compared to previous forecasts. Surface temperatures will remain above freezing for a longer duration before eventually lowering Saturday night. Because of this, we anticipate a longer period of rain before the precipitation switches over to a wintry mix and eventually snow. A persistent warm layer of air aloft will complicate precipitation types tonight and Saturday. As surface temperatures fall to near or just below freezing overnight, particularly across the Arrowhead, we expect to see rain transition to freezing rain and ice pellets. Once the colder air finally scours out the warm nose, precipitation will change to snow. However, a dry pocket of air in the mid levels could lead to a period of freezing drizzle in northwest Wisconsin by early Sunday morning. Overall precipitation amounts will be very light. Expect a tenth of an inch or less of liquid for the Iron Range, the Arrowhead, and northwest Wisconsin. Snow accumulations will generally be a trace, with up to an inch possible near Grand Portage. A light glaze of ice is also expected wherever freezing rain occurs. By Sunday, a relatively colder Canadian high pressure system will settle into the region, keeping high temperatures at forty degrees or lower. This chill will be short lived, as a brief warm up arrives for Monday and Tuesday, allowing temperatures in our southern zones to climb back into the upper forties. The active weather pattern will continue into next week with a parade of clippers. The first will arrive Monday night along a cold front, quickly followed by another system early Wednesday with warm air advection once again. Both of these clippers will bring additional chances for light, mixed wintry precipitation to the area. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 1224 PM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026 VFR conditions expected for all terminals except INL through the afternoon. Low stratus from morning fog will continue to dissipate and is expected to clear within the next 2-3 hours. A clipper will move through the Borderlands and will affect INL tonight with mixed precipitation and as low as IFR conditions. There is a very small (<10%) possibility Some restrictions are possible at HIB and DLH, though little precipitation is expected at these locations. && .MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/... Issued at 229 PM CDT Fri Mar 20 2026 Quiet conditions on western Lake Superior this afternoon will deteriorate this weekend as a fast moving low pressure system crosses the region. East to northeast winds will increase Saturday and into Sunday, with gusts of 20 to 25 knots across most nearshore zones and waves building to 2 to 4 feet after midnight Saturday. The outer Apostle Islands and the waters off Saxon Harbor could see waves building to 4 to 8 feet. Small Craft Advisories will likely be needed for the North Shore and around and east of the Bayfield Peninsula. 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...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...KML AVIATION...KML MARINE...KML