Near-record warmth Thursday & Friday ahead of winter storm! [Video]

THURSDAY: Showers in the northern valley will depart this afternoon. This means a few slick spots up north before temperatures rise above freezing. Besides those precipitation chances, however, most of our region will stay dry. Sunshine will develop. Additionally, a strong south-southeasterly wind, gusting up to 30 mph, will lift warm air into our region. As a result, temperatures will be in the mid-50s across the Devils Lake Basin and northwest MN and low-60s at the ND-SD border, which means some areas may get close to their daily record highs. Overall, Thursday is looking warm and clear.

FIRST ALERT FRIDAY – UPCOMING WEEKEND:Models indicate that between Friday and Sunday (the 14th – 16th), a low-pressure system will lift from the Rockies towards our region. There is still some variation regarding exact timing, but it appears that we’ll start with some rain on Friday evening (with even a few thunderstorms), transitioning to freezing rain and mix after …