Rain, rain, then more rain

We won't be needing our sunglasses anytime soon.

We'll have plenty of chances to use our umbrellas on Monday and Tuesday, and we might still need them on Wednesday.

The big picture 

Minnesota and Wisconsin will see extended periods of rain from Sunday night into Wednesday morning.

There could also be some thunderstorms in the mix from time to time.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday evening through Wednesday afternoon:

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain or snow.

You’ll notice that the NAM model shows a mix of rain and snow over parts of northwestern and north-central Minnesota on Wednesday.

Heavy rain for some

The highest rain totals from Sunday night into early Wednesday are expected to fall from southwestern and south-central Minnesota though east-central Minnesota and into western Wisconsin:

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the potential heavy rain area, and it runs from Monday afternoon into Wednesday morning:

The flood watch includes the Twin Cities metro area.

Here are the flood watch details:

Flood Watch

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

321 PM CDT Sun Oct 7 2018

...PROLONGED PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL MAY LEAD TO FLOODING EARLY

THIS WEEK...

.A stalled frontal boundary extending from the Plains to the northern

Great Lakes will focus a corridor of nearly continuous rainfall,

occasionally heavy, across the Upper Midwest from tonight through

early Wednesday. Flooding potential will increase beginning Monday

afternoon after the ground becomes saturated from rain tonight

and Monday morning.

MNZ045-051>053-058>063-065>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-

023>028-080500-

/O.NEW.KMPX.FA.A.0001.181008T1800Z-181010T1200Z/

/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

Kanabec-Sherburne-Isanti-Chisago-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-

Ramsey-Washington-Renville-McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-

Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth-

Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault-Freeborn-Polk-Barron-Rusk-

St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire-

Including the cities of Mora, Elk River, Cambridge, Center City,

Litchfield, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater,

Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chaska, Shakopee, Hastings,

Redwood Falls, New Ulm, St Peter, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing,

St James, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth,

Albert Lea, Osceola, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls,

Prescott, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire

321 PM CDT Sun Oct 7 2018

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY

MORNING...

The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued

a

* Flood Watch for portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin, including

the following areas, in Minnesota, Anoka, Blue Earth, Brown,

Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue,

Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Le Sueur, Martin, McLeod, Meeker,

Nicollet, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Scott, Sherburne,

Sibley, Steele, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, and Wright. In

Wisconsin, Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce,

Polk, Rusk, and St. Croix.

* From Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning.

* Widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches are expected, with a

swath of 5 to 6 inches possible from south central and east

central Minnesota to west central Wisconsin.

* Prolonged moderate to heavy rainfall early this week will lead

to rising river and stream levels and could result in lowland

flooding through the week.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on

current forecasts.

You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible

Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be

prepared to take action should flooding develop.

We'll keep you updated on the potential for heavy rain.

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR news live weather blog.

Temperature trends

There will be a huge range in Minnesota high temperatures on Monday, from 40s in the northwest to near 70 in the far southeast:

Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to reach the mid to upper 50s on Monday, followed by mid 50s on Tuesday. We'll probably top out in the lower 50s on Wednesday.

It now looks like we'll see highs in the chilly upper 40s on Thursday and Friday.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.