Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Classic spring day; scattered storms mainly south of MSP today

A classic spring weather pattern across Minnesota.

Spring day at the Weather Lab
Beautiful spring day at the Weather Lab in the southwest Twin Cities.
Paul Huttner/MPR News

It’s a classic spring day across Minnesota. Bright blue skies provide the canopy over the bursting high-energy green colors of the blooming spring landscape. grass is green. Spring flowers are blooming everywhere. It doesn’t get much better than this, Minnesota.

The only weather fly in our forecast today revolves around a relatively weak low-pressure center spinning eastward through Iowa this afternoon. That system will provide enough instability to spark a few scattered showers and thunderstorms south and west of MSP.

NOAA’s FV3 model shows the likely coverage of scattered showers and thunderstorms between 4 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday.

NOAA FV3 model
NOAA FV3 model between 4 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday.
NOAA via tropical tidbits

Keep and eye out for storms across southern Minnesota including I-90 corridor towns like Luverne, Worthington, Fairmont, Albert Lea, and Rochester.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center paints a marginal risk for a few severe cells packing hail and high winds into Wednesday evening. We’re getting off lucky once again. A bigger severe weather outbreak is likely across the Ohio Valley region.

Severe weather risk areas
Severe weather risk areas.
NOAA

Highs today and the rest of this week will fall mostly in the 60s and 70s across Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
Forecast high temperatures Wednesday.
NOAA

The rest of this week looks lovely with just a small chance for a few isolated thunderstorms. Mother’s Day weekend looks nice overall with the same chance for isolated thunderstorms.

A few models suggest highs by Sunday may push 80 degrees in southern Minnesota!

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday.
NOAA