Record weekend warmth; temps retreat a bit this coming week

The Friday high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 59 degrees, tying the Twin Cities record high temp for March 1. It’ll be even warmer this weekend.

Highs in the 60s are expected across much of the southern half of Minnesota plus portions of west-central Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.

Here are a few of the the existing March 2 record highs that are expected to be broken today:

Twin Cities: 54 (1923)

St. Cloud: 53 (1934)

Rochester: 58 (1964)

Eau Claire, Wisc.: 58 (1923)

Most of northern Minnesota will see a mix of 50s and 40s Saturday afternoon, with a few 30s in northwestern Minnesota.

Temperature trends

Sunday highs range from 40s in far northwestern Minnesota to lower 70s in the southeast:

Here are a few of the existing March 3 record highs that are expected to be broken on Sunday:

Twin Cities: 65 (1905)

St. Cloud: 61 (1905)

Rochester: 56 (1946)

Eau Claire, Wisc.: 58 (1894)

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 25 to 35 mph range in many areas. Here are forecast wind gusts for 3 p.m. Sunday:

Temperature retreat a bit on Monday, with 20s and 30s in much of northern Minnesota and mainly 40s elsewhere:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the upper 40s on Monday, followed by lower 50s Wednesday and Thursday then mid 40s on Friday.

Precipitation chances

Portions of northwestern Minnesota could see light snow or a snow/rain mix at times Saturday afternoon and evening. A passing sprinkle or flurry is possible in north-central Minnesota.

Northwestern Minnesota and parts of north-central Minnesota could see a wintry mix at times Saturday night into Sunday. A winter weather advisory includes three northwestern Minnesota counties from midnight Saturday night to 6 a.m. Monday:

Here are details of the advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 306 AM CST Sat Mar 2 2024 MNZ004>006-041200- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0011.240303T0600Z-240304T1200Z/ Kittson-Roseau-Lake Of The Woods- Including the cities of Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Casperson, Fox, Hayes Lake State Park, Malung, Pencer, Roseau, Salol, and Baudette 306 AM CST Sat Mar 2 2024 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light glaze. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Kittson, Roseau and Lake Of The Woods Counties. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact travel. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at travel.dot.nd.gov and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

Updated forecasts for northern Minnesota will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in Duluth and Grand Forks.

Scattered showers are possible Sunday in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Parts of northern Minnesota could see more extensive showers, and northwestern Minnesota could see a wintry mix at times.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Ice safety

Be careful about ice safety. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has plenty of information on ice safety, including these guidelines:

According to the DNR:

Many factors other than thickness affect ice strength, including air temperature, wind, snow, streams, narrow areas or bottlenecks, sun, shade, fish communities, plant decay, and more. When a layer of snow melts and refreezes on top of lake ice, it creates white ice, only about half as strong as new, clear ice. Double the above thickness guidelines when traveling on white ice.

Addition information on lake ice can be found here.

Weather nugget

The Twin Cities saw just three days in February when the average daily temperature was colder than normal. The average daily temp is the average of the high temp and the low temp for the day. 

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.