Cooler but still mild week ahead
A few rain and snow showers possible Monday
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Updated 12 p.m.
After our earliest recorded 70-degree reading in the Twin Cities on Sunday, it’ll be cooler but still well above normal this week for most. We have two chances of some rain and snow Monday and then again late Wednesday into Thursday for some.
Record-setting weekend warmth
What a weekend. Temperatures broke records both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday brought the first 70 degree readings for much of southern and southeastern Minnesota as well.
In the Twin Cities and St. Cloud it was our earliest ever recorded 70 degree reading. We topped out at 74 in the Twin Cities and 70 in St. Cloud. The previous earliest 70 in the Twin Cities was March 5, 2000.
Per the Minnesota State Climatology Office, there’s a definitive trend of earlier 70-degree readings in recent decades.
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Kenny Blumenfeld, the State Climatology Office’s senior climatologist, writes:
The recent expansion of the 70-degree season towards earlier dates is apparent; at both stations all of occurrences of March 15th or earlier have been in the period since 1980. On the other end of the graph, you can see it’s not as common as it used to be to have the first 70 F reading delayed until May 1 or later at both stations, even when accounting for the greater number of pre-1980 years versus years since 1980.
Cooler, still mild; a few precipitation chances
A disturbance will bring clouds to much of Minnesota Monday with the chance of some scattered rain and snow showers, mainly in southern Minnesota.
A narrow band of snow has developed on the back side of showers in portions of east-central Minnesota into western Wisconsin midday Monday. The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for this narrow area:
At 1210 PM CST, an area of heavy snow was located along a line extending from 5 miles north of Baldwin to near Stanton. Movement was northeast at 30 mph. Visibilities of less than one mile are occurring within this band. Up to an inch of snow is possible. Locations impacted include... River Falls, Hastings, Prescott, Cannon Falls, Barron, Chetek, Baldwin, Hammond, Cameron, Roberts, Woodville, and Glenwood City.
A quick coating of snow is possible in the southeast metro into western Wisconsin.
Highs Monday will be cooler but still above normal in the 40s south to 30s and 20s north.
It will be windier across northern Minnesota, closer to the center of a clipper-type low-pressure area.
Southern Minnesota will see lighter winds as we’re between two competing low pressure centers.
The rest of the week will bring continued overall above-normal temperatures, mostly in the 40s to low 50s south to 30s north. Wednesday and Thursday will be a bit warmer with low 50s more widespread in southern Minnesota.
Another disturbance develops Wednesday into Thursday that could bring rain and snow to the region once again.
