Weekend weather: Rain, thunderstorm chances highest Friday night and Sunday
Northern Minnesota will see some rain Saturday and Sunday
Parts of Minnesota are still in drought and will welcome the rain that’s in our weekend forecast. Many locations will see between 1 and 2 inches of rain between Friday afternoon and Monday morning.
Timing of the rain and thunder
Much of Minnesota and Wisconsin will have periods of rain Friday afternoon, with an isolated thunderstorm also possible.
Periods of rain and embedded thunderstorms are expected in most of Minnesota and Wisconsin Friday evening and overnight Friday night.
During the daylight hours of Saturday, the best chance of rain and embedded thunderstorms will be in northern Minnesota. Periods of rain with embedded thunderstorms are expected in Minnesota and Wisconsin Saturday night and Sunday.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday:
NOAA’s Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere (FV3) model shows a similar precipitation pattern during that time period:
Use the models as a general outlook, since thunderstorm coverage can’t be predicted with high accuracy two days in advance. Breaks in cloud cover during peak heating can lead to more extensive thunderstorm development.
Severe weather potential
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather (shaded darker green) in far southern Minnesota later Friday afternoon into Friday night:
Marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible:
The severe weather outlook for 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday shows a marginal risk in southeastern Minnesota:
In that time period, the marginal risk for southeastern Minnesota will tend to be mainly Saturday night.
Southeastern Minnesota is also in a marginal risk of severe weather Sunday and Sunday night:
Check forecast updates as we go through the weekend.
Weekend temperatures
The average Twin Cities high temperature is 62 degrees on April 27. Metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 60s this Saturday.
Saturday highs will range from 40s in far northern Minnesota to lower 70s in the far southeast:
Sunday high temps are forecast to be in the 50s in the Twin Cities metro area, with 40s in roughly the northern half of Minnesota and 60s in parts of far southern Minnesota:
Some areas up along the North Shore of Lake Superior will have Saturday highs in the 30s.
It’ll be breezy this weekend.
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.