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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Ron Trenda

Shower chances linger into the weekend; Halloween update

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We've seen a dry stretch of weather over the past 10 days, which is fine because September and early October were wet.

Nine of the past 10 days have been dry (no measurable rain) at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport:

rt1025clim2
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport data, via NWS

There was a tiny bit of rain last Friday morning, with .02 of an inch reported at MSP airport.

Drought free

We still have ample soil moisture across most of Minnesota.

The latest report from  U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions, but not drought, in parts of northwestern Minnesota:

rt1025drt
U.S. Drought Monitor/USDA/NOAA/University of Nebraska-Lincoln

There is a very tiny spot in far western Marshall County with moderate drought.

Rain chances 

Western and northern Minnesota are seeing the most widespread rains Thursday morning.

Looking ahead:

  • All of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have rain or a chance of rain Thursday afternoon and evening.

  • Periods of rain are likely for must of us on Friday.

  • Another wave of showers is expected to move across Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Saturday and Saturday night. The best chance of showers in the Twin Cities is expected to be late Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night.

  • Scattered showers are still possible on Sunday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening:

rt1025rad2
NOAA NAM simulated radar from Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening, via tropicaltidbits

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.

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.

Halloween sprinkles or flakes? 

NOAA's latest Global Forecast System model shows a rain shower chance in southern Minnesota Halloween evening:

rt1025rad
NOAA GFS precipitation rate (mm/hour) October 31 through November 1, via tropicaltidbits

Parts of northern Minnesota could see scattered snow showers.

We'll keep you posted.

Temperature trends

Most of Minnesota will see highs in the 40s this Thursday afternoon, with some 50s in the south.

Similar highs are on tap for Friday:

rt1026h

And also on Saturday:

rt1027h

Highs in the 40s will be common on Sunday:

rt1028h

Twin Cities metro area highs don't move much next week, with lower 50s on Monday and Tuesday, and around 50 on Wednesday.

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.