Wintry weather returns with risk of freezing rain Tuesday

 A brief period of freezing rain will be possible from late Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday evening, causing slick conditions and icy travel for some.

For the rest of Monday evening mostly cloudy skies can be expected as an area of low pressure passes well to our north. This will pull a warm front through the Stateline late Monday night into Tuesday morning. Ahead of the front, skies have filled back in with cloud cover as a few light snow showers fall across Minnesota. To the south of there, there has been some fog that has developed that could move in our direction late Monday night and Tuesday morning.

While most of the flurries and light snow will miss the area tonight, a few could dot our skies after 8pm Monday. Minimal impacts can be expected with at most a dusting falling on the snow that is already on the ground. We may also see some very light freezing drizzle during the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday. The chance for this is low, but it's not zero and something we'll need to keep an eye on during the overnight. If freezing drizzle does develop then there may be some icy spots, mainly on elevated and untreated surfaces, early Tuesday morning. Temperatures will be starting out in the 20s.

Most of the daytime hours of Tuesday will be dry, but cloudy. Southwest winds will gust around 20 mph through the afternoon, increasing to around 35 mph and shifting to the west Tuesday evening. Another clipper-system will zip down from the northwest, moving across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois Tuesday evening. Ahead of the low, a breezy southwest wind will draw in both warmth and moisture, but the warmth won't be felt right away at the surface. Temperatures will climb but likely fall short of their full potential due to the deep snowpack we currently have on the ground. This means late afternoon temperatures may only rise to, or just below, 32 degrees. At the same time, the increase in moisture will cause precipitation to fall. But with surface temperatures close to - if not below - freezing during that time it's likely we will see a period of freezing rain. This looks to develop after 4pm, moving in from the west, and continue through 9pm. It's also possible that during that time there will be a period of wet snow mixing in for some. The highest chance for that occurring will be right along the state line and points north in Wisconsin.

Significant ice accumulations are not expected, but it doesn't really take much ice to cause problems, and we could see some icy travel for at least the late afternoon and evening commutes. This will be most notable on elevated surfaces and roads, untreated surfaces, as well as parking lots and sidewalks.

As the low passes early Wednesday morning a strong cold front will sweep in from the north. This will quickly shift our wind around to the northwest Wednesday morning, with gusts possibly reaching 35-40 mph. At the same time scattered snow showers will occur which, when combined with the wind, reduce visibility for a time Wednesday morning. The reduced visibility and snow coming down could create some slick conditions for the Wednesday morning commute. Most of this will occur before mid-morning with scattered snow showers expected during the afternoon. Temperatures will also fall during the day, settling down into the mid-20s by Wednesday evening.