Warmer, breezy Tuesday; record warmth, rain on Christmas Eve

Tuesday will be breezy from the south as warmer air moves back in. Temperatures will be above normal into next week. Rain showers develop Sunday into Monday.

Warming back up

Here we go again. After one chilly day Monday, that was actually near normal, we’re back to above-normal temperatures. It will be breezy from the south as warmer air moves in at about 10-20 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

High temperatures will be into the 30s for most of the state with pockets of colder readings in the northwest and northeast. A few spots could hit 40 in southwestern Minnesota.

Temperatures will continue to hover around 40 for highs into Friday south to near freezing north.

The forecast calls for a high temperature of 49 on Sunday, Christmas Eve. It would be a record for the date. 

Rain develops for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day 

A relatively minor upper-level disturbance could touch off a few sprinkles or flurries on Friday, but our next significant storm system will develop rain across much of Minnesota on Sunday. 

The storm could bring significant rainfall, although forecast models are now hinting at a north-south split in some of the heavier precipitation amounts.

Regardless, a wet Christmas is looking more likely with a widespread rainfall of one-half inch or so Sunday into Monday and Tuesday.

The better chances of snow, at least at this early stage, is to the west in the Dakotas and perhaps some in northern Minnesota. 

These are still early days with a system that’s five to seven days away and much could change, but given our track record of an incredibly mild December, a surprise blast of snow seems improbable.