Latest Duluth Area Text Forecast Discussion product from NWS:
521
FXUS63 KDLH 041730
AFDDLH
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Duluth MN
1130 AM CST Wed Mar 4 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Overnight and morning fog and stratus over the next few days.
The fog will reduce visibilities to a mile or less for
portions of the Northland this morning.
- A spring weather system arrives Thursday night and Friday and
lasts through early Saturday morning. Light to moderate rain,
rumbles of thunder, a wintry mix and a bit of snow are all
possible.
- Another spring system will move across the region early next
week, bringing another round of rain/snow mixture.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 313 AM CST Wed Mar 4 2026
A weak front is currently stalled across the Northland,
bringing widespread low clouds and areas of fog early this
morning. Some locations, mainly along and north of the Iron
Range are seeing visibility values below one mile as of 3 AM.
While visibilities improve during the day today, the front will
linger through Thursday. Unseasonably warm air continues to move
in aloft, which combined with melting snow on the ground, will
keep moisture trapped near the surface. This makes fog very
likely again tonight and through Thursday night for most of the
region.
Daytime temperatures will stay quite mild today and Thursday,
with highs reaching the 40s and 50s. However, areas along the
North Shore will be much cooler on Thursday as winds turn to the
northeast, pulling chilly air off Lake Superior.
The weather turns much more active late Thursday night through
Friday as a strong low pressure moves from where it develops in
Colorado across Nebraska into Iowa on Friday, then northeast
across Wisconsin Friday night. Expect widespread rain to spread
across the area beginning early Friday morning, with moderate
rainfall amounts of up to three quarters of an inch possible in
northwest Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. We are also
monitoring the potential for some rumbles of thunder, mainly
south of the Iron Range. As colder air arrives Friday night, the
rain will transition to a wintry mix and eventually light snow.
While significant snow accumulation is not currently expected,
slick travel is possible heading into Saturday. Snowfall amounts
will be greatest over northern Minnesota, where 1 to 3 inches
is currently forecast.
Another spring system will move across the area Monday through
Wednesday of next week. Ahead of it, warm air will help boost
temperatures well above normal on Sunday and Monday.
Precipitation chances are currently highest Monday night into
Tuesday as a fairly strong low pressure system moves across the
Mid Mississippi river valley. Currently there is a lot of spread
in timing and track between individual models, making the
signal not very clear in the ensembles.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 1124 AM CST Wed Mar 4 2026
Fog is dissipating across the Northland, but will linger at INL
for at least the next couple hours. VFR conditions will continue
until tonight, when dense fog is expected to develop again,
starting near DLH from northeast winds transporting moisture off
of Lake Superior. Also, models show the more persistent fog
south of BRD and HYR today will reform and lower conditions
quickly to LIFR/VLIFR tonight as well.
&&
.MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/...
Issued at 313 AM CST Wed Mar 4 2026
Expect relatively quiet conditions for today with waves under 2
feet. However, northeast winds will increase tonight into
Thursday to 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots. Waves will
build to 2 to 4 feet, especially along the North Shore and the
Twin Ports. Small Craft Advisories will likely be needed
starting tonight and continuing through Thursday. Wind speeds
and waves decrease while remaining out of the northeast Thursday
night, then remaining under 10 knots through Friday.
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...LE
AVIATION...KML
MARINE...LE
NWS DLH Office Area Forecast Discussion
