Warm Monday and Tuesday; temps retreat later in the week

Updated 8:30 p.m. Sunday

We had a sun-splashed Sunday.

The Sunday high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 51 degrees. Eden Prairie and Lakeville reported 5 p.m. readings of 52 degrees. The average March 10 Twin Cities high temperature is 39 degrees.

There were a lot of 50s in southern and central Minnesota Sunday afternoon, with a few spots in west-central Minnesota reaching the 60s.

It’ll be even warmer on Monday.

Temperature trends

Monday highs will reach the 70s in much of southwestern through southeastern Minnesota, with mainly 60s in the Twin Cities metro area plus central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin:

The northern third of Minnesota will see a lot of 50s.

The warmest March 11 temperature in Twin Cities weather records is 66 degrees. That record could fall Monday afternoon. By the way, the daily high temperature often happens after 4 p.m. this time of year.

Tuesday highs will reach the 60s in roughly the southern half of Minnesota, with 50s to the north:

Far northwestern Minnesota will see some 40s.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 60s on Tuesday, then around 60 degrees Wednesday followed by lower 50s Thursday and upper 40s on Friday.

It looks like Twin Cities metro area highs will stay in the 40s next weekend, with near-normal temperatures into the beginning of the following week. Here’s the March 16 through March 20 temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center:

Fire weather update

A combination of gusty winds and low relative humidity could create critical fire weather conditions in southwestern Minnesota Monday afternoon and evening. A fire weather watch is posted for southwestern Minnesota during that period:

Here are details, from the National Weather Service:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1240 PM CDT Sun Mar 10 2024 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA... Very dry conditions are forecast to occur Monday afternoon and evening. The highest confidence of critical fire weather conditions will occur in areas along or near the Buffalo Ridge. Relative humidities can reach as low as 14 percent with wind gusts reaching 25 mph. Any fires that form will have the potential to spread quickly. MNZ064-073-074-082-091-110145- /O.NEW.KMPX.FW.A.0001.240311T1800Z-240312T0000Z/ Yellow Medicine-Redwood-Brown-Watonwan-Martin- 1240 PM CDT Sun Mar 10 2024 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA... The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued a Fire Weather Watch, which is in effect from Monday afternoon through Monday evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Yellow Medicine, Redwood, Brown, Watonwan, and Martin. * WIND...Southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. * HUMIDITY...As low as 14 percent. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.

Check for updates on Minnesota fire weather conditions on Monday.

Dry weather continues

Our weekend was dry and Monday and Tuesday look dry too.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model isn’t showing any precipitation in Minnesota or western Wisconsin from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Tuesday:

Wednesday looks dry across most of Minnesota. One forecast model shows a shower chance in far northern Minnesota Wednesday, then parts of southern Minnesota could see a few showers on Thursday.

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

Weather nugget

Sunset in the Twin Cities is at 7:13 p.m. today. One month from today, sunset time in the Twin Cities will be 40 minutes later, at 7:53 p.m. CDT.