Warm Sunday, soaking rains on Tuesday. Freezing temps later in the week?
Beneficial rains Tuesday and Tuesday night
The Saturday high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 84 degrees. That’s the average Twin Cities high temp on July 8. The average Twin Cities high on April 13 is just 56 degrees.
St. Cloud hit 83 degrees Saturday afternoon, and there were a lot of 80s in west-central and southern Minnesota.
We’ll see our winds shift to the northwest by Sunday, so temps will retreat a few degrees.
Temperature trends
Sunday highs will be in the 70s across roughly the southern half of Minnesota, with mainly 60s to the north:
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Far northeastern Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 50s.
Monday afternoon highs will range from 50s in far northern Minnesota to 70s in the south:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 70 degrees on Monday, followed by 60 Tuesday then upper 50s Wednesday, upper 40s Thursday and mid 40s on Friday.
Below-normal temperatures are expected next weekend and into the start of the following week. Here’s the April 19 through April 23 temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center:
Frost potential increases later this week
Thursday morning lows will be in the 30s in many areas:
Low temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s are expected Friday morning:
You’ll have to cover tender plants or bring potted plants indoors later this week to escape frost and freezing temps.
Soaking rains Tuesday
Far northern Minnesota and parts of northwestern Wisconsin will have the best chance of showers Saturday evening. A brief passing shower is possible elsewhere in Minnesota and in west-central Wisconsin.
Periods of rain and some embedded thunderstorms are on tap for Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin Tuesday and Tuesday night. Some showers could linger into Wednesday. Forecast models show the potential for 1 to 2 inches of rain Tuesday into Wednesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 1 a.m. Tuesday to 1 p.m. Wednesday:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network.
Updated forecast information will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in the Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D. and Grand Forks, N.D.
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.