Rain chances increase this afternoon; cooler temps return this weekend

Our Friday afternoon high temperatures will be the warmest highs that we see over the next five days.

I imagine that a few folks will rake their leaves today, during this temporary thaw.

Temperature trends

Highs will be in the 40s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin this Friday afternoon.

Parts of far northern Minnesota will top out in the 30s.

Most of the Twin Cities metro area should reach the upper 40s, which is well above our average Nov. 23 high of 37 degrees.

On Saturday, highs in the 30s are expected in about the southeastern half of Minnesota, with 20s in roughly the northwestern half of our favorite state:

Sunday will feature highs in the 20s in much of southern and central Minnesota, with some teens to the north:

Twin Cities metro area highs will probably only reach the lower 20s on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Rain and snow chances

As we go through this Friday afternoon, rain is expected to spread into southern and eastern Minnesota plus western Wisconsin. Rain will continue this evening in much of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and the rain could mix with snow over northeastern Minnesota later this evening, then change to all snow in that area overnight.

The Twin Cities metro area could see a brief shower in the early afternoon, but our best chance of rain is expected to be from around mid-afternoon into this evening and tonight. Our rain could mix with a few snowflakes after midnight tonight.

In northeastern Minnesota and part of north-central Minnesota, there will probably be some snow accumulation overnight tonight into Saturday morning:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Friday afternoon through Saturday 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 and snow.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

If you are heading into Iowa this weekend, be aware that there is a winter storm watch for about the southern half of Iowa Saturday night through Sunday evening:

For details as the potential winter storm evolves, you can check with the Des Moines office of the National Weather Service.

Record cold Thanksgiving in parts of the Northeast

Here are some of the Thanksgiving and November records that were tied or broken yesterday in New England:

Boston tied their records for coldest high temperature on Thanksgiving and coldest high temp on Nov. 22.

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.