Lake Vermilion Area Weekend Weather – February 28-March 2
From the National Weather Service
KEY MESSAGES
– Winter Weather Advisory until midnight for Iron County where Lake Effect Snow showers will bring 4-7 inches of snow.
– Brief cool down for Saturday with highs staying below freezing. Warm temperatures return Sunday, and by Monday we will see highs in the 40s.
– Precipitation chances return as early as Tuesday with a potential Colorado low moving across the Midwest on Wednesday.
DISCUSSION
Issued at 256 PM CST Fri Feb 28 2025
Current Conditions:
Surface low pressure has moved over into central Lake Superior with
a secondary cold front draping across the Northern Plains and
northern MN. Temperature change behind this boundary has seen
falling temperatures throughout the day with INL sitting 20F colder
than they were at 6am. The blustery winds we saw this morning have
slowly come down but are still gusting up to 30-35 mph. As we head
into the overnight hours expect these winds to taper off as surface
high pressure slides in from Canada.
South Shore Lake Effect:
Strong northwesterlies and continued cold air advection over western
Lake Superior has spurred Lake effect snow showers over portions of
the South Shore. Radar shows steady returns over Ashland and Iron
County indicative that the precipitation shield is not too shallow.
Web cams over Ironwood show a light snowfall with barren ground once
again being consumed by snow. For our Winter Weather Advisory in
Iron County we have one slight modification, ending the headline at
midnight as opposed to Saturday morning. Still expect to see 2 to 4
inches across most of the region with higher values of 4 to 7 inches
possible in the northern portions. Activity is expected to taper off
in the early morning hours as winds turn more northerly and
introduce drier air.
The Weekend:
High pressure moves in on Saturday with clearing skies. Despite the
sunny day temperatures will be somewhat tempered as the cool air
mass sinks in from Canada. Highs are expected to remain below
freezing. The high pressure slides off to the east on Sunday with
southerly flow returning once again. Highs will climb into the upper
30s and 40s once again.
Next Week:
Above normal temperatures will carry into next week with a toasty
Monday. Highs are expected to be in the 40s and low 50s. For
context, our usual high temps are in the mid to low 30s for this
time of year. The weather looks to turn active again as a Colorado
Low is set to move through the Midwest. The low tracks still
show a high variance with a general agreement of being in the
vicinity of IL by Wednesday morning. As you can imagine the QPF
plumes vary quite a bit ranging from nothing to 0.80 inches on
the high end. Most of the clustering still remains along the low
end of less than 0.20 inches though. Too much uncertainty to
make any bold predictions at this time. Precipitation chances
could arrive as early as Tuesday as an inverted trough out ahead
of the main system instigates some rain/snow.
AVIATION
Issued at 540 PM CST Fri Feb 28 2025
Gusty north-northwest winds with gusts of 20 to 30 knots early
this evening will gradually subside tonight, giving way to
lighter northwest winds on Saturday as high pressure moves into
the region out of Saskatchewan. Predominately broken VFR
ceilings are present across much of northeast Minnesota and
northwest Wisconsin this evening, with some embedded light snow
showers at times, but didn`t mention the snow outside of VCSH.
Snow should come to an end by later this evening, with clearing
skies tonight into Saturday for all but north-central Wisconsin
as the aforementioned high pressure moves overhead.
MARINE /FOR NEAR SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR
Issued at 223 PM CST Fri Feb 21 2025
Southwest winds will continue with gusts of 25 to around 30 knots.
There is a 30% chance for gale force gusts this afternoon and early
evening along the North Shore. Waves will build through the day
peaking along the North Shore around 8 feet from Grand Portage to
Taconite Harbor late afternoon into the evening. Some freezing spray
will also occur with the higher waves. Small Craft Advisories remain
in effect this afternoon into tonight. West or southwest winds
tonight will decrease overnight into Saturday. Winds will decrease
further Saturday night.
The strong southwest winds have lead to some ice shifting.
For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area
Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.
WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MN…None.
WI…Winter Weather Advisory until midnight CST tonight for WIZ004.
MARINE…Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM CST Saturday for LSZ121.
Small Craft Advisory until 8 AM CST Saturday for LSZ140>143.
Small Craft Advisory until 3 AM CST Saturday for LSZ144-145.
Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM CST Saturday for LSZ146>148-
150.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning from 9 PM this evening to 2 AM
CST Saturday for LSZ146.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning from 9 PM this evening to 4 AM
CST Saturday for LSZ150.