Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Near-record warmth Thursday then slightly cooler Friday

Snow and rain is still possible for the weekend

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Potential record highs (marked) Thursday afternoon
WeatherBELL Analytics

Here we go again. We could reach another record high Thursday afternoon in the Twin Cities. It’ll be cooler, but still mild Friday into the weekend with snow and rain showers.

Very mild Thursday; weekend snow, rain possible

We tied a 133-year old record on Tuesday afternoon in the Twin Cities. We may tie or break another one Thursday. The record high is 48, set in 1989.

Highs will be back in the low to even mid-50s across south-central Minnesota, near 50 in the Twin Cities and 40s across central Minnesota up to Duluth with 30s far north. We’ll also have lots of sunshine.

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Forecast highs Thursday
National Weather Service

A cool front and wind shift pushes through Thursday night, dropping temperatures Friday. There will be quite the temperature gradient with highs only near 10 in northwestern Minnesota but still near 40 along the Minnesota-Iowa border. 

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Forecast highs Friday
National Weather Service

Weekend snow and rain showers are still possible for much of the state but the northern portions of Minnesota are more heavily favored for anything significant. 

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Forecast snowfall Saturday into Sunday
National Weather Service

Colder air is on tap for early next week but it will not be even close to what we had early last week for temperatures. Highs will be mainly in the teens and single digits with overnight lows below zero only in northern Minnesota. 

Here are forecast highs and lows for the Twin Cities area:

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Forecast highs and lows for the Twin Cities
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via WeatherBELL Analytics

And forecast highs and lows for International Falls:

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Forecast highs and lows for International Falls
NOAA, via WeatherBELL Analytics

We’ll see several light snow chances as well early next week along with the cold air. We may very well nickel-and-dime our way to some snow cover in southern Minnesota.

Here’s one ensemble model forecast of total snowfall through midweek next week:

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Forecast snowfall totals through Wednesday from the Canadian Global Environmental Multiscale forecast model ensembles
Environent Canada, via Pivotal Weather