Hot, dry weather and wildfire smoke are elevating ground-level ozone across most of Minnesota today.

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Two successive cool fronts will finally drop temperatures to below normal readings Sunday and Monday. These will be the first below normal temps in more than a month.

Finally, some chilly air moves in for the weekend and early next week 

Friday will be cooler after much of southern Minnesota reached 80 degrees Thursday, likely the last one of 2024. It will still be above normal with highs in the 70s south to near 60 degrees north with partly cloudy skies. 

Saturday will be slightly above normal with highs in the 60s south to 50s north. 

A second cold front drops south Saturday night really bringing the chill for Sunday into early next week. Highs Sunday and Monday will be in just the 50s for southern Minnesota and only 40s north.

We also have a good chance of at least some light rain showers across the northern half of the state late Saturday into Sunday, mostly north of Interstate 94. 

Portions of northeastern Minnesota could see localized one-half to 1-inch rainfall amounts. Some of those showers may even mix with some snowflakes into the Arrowhead region Sunday!

While accumulations are probably unlikely due to warm ground and surface temperatures that will be above freezing, some forecast models hint at isolated patches of brief slush on grassy surfaces:

The chilly air will lead to the first chance at widespread frost for southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities suburbs early Monday and Tuesday mornings. 

The urban core of the metro area may stay just above freezing, but almost all suburbs and areas outside the Twin Cities area will see near or below freezing temperatures both early Monday and early Tuesday mornings: 

The chill will last a few days but by mid to late week we’re back to temperatures that will be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above normal, in the low 70s for southern Minnesota by Thursday.

Sven Sundgaard

Author

Two successive cool fronts will finally drop temperatures to below normal readings Sunday and Monday. These will be the first below normal temps in more than a month. 

Seasonably chilly air moves in for the weekend

Go Deeper.

Like this?