Currently in the Twin Cities — November 9, 2023: Windy and cool

The weather, currently.

As anticipated the North Shore saw up to five inches of snow Tuesday night into early Wednesday, specifically around Grand Marais. Other areas of northeast Minnesota saw anywhere from one half inch to three inches also. There’ll be more wrap around snow showers Thursday with additional light accumulations.

Here in southern Minnesota, we’ll see sun break out but it will be windy statewide. Winds will gust to more than 35 mph on Thursday as cooler air sets in.

Highs will be just around 40 Friday but we pop back into the low 50s Sunday. Most models agree that we could see 60 by Tuesday!

— Sven Sundgaard

What you need to know, currently.

According to the latest US drought monitor, California is now entirely drought-free for the first time since early 2020 — thanks to a series of beneficial rains brought in part by Hurricane Hilary and a growing El Niño.

Almost every major lake and reservoir in the state is currently filled higher than normal — a rarity for California in this era of megadrought. Some areas of the Sierra Nevada mountain range are more than 20 inches ahead in 2023 alone. The state also made it through peak wildfire season with hardly any major threats, thanks mostly to the wet soil.

In fact, state officials have begun to release extra capacity from California reservoirs to hold heavy rains that might come with El Niño this winter. The first potential atmospheric river of the season could arrive as early as this weekend.

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

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