Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Taste of spring: Sunny weekend with a shot at 60 degrees by Monday

Temps more than 20 degrees warmer than normal ahead

NOAA 6 to 10-day temperature outlook
Six to 10-day temperature outlook
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The weather maps are looking more like spring than winter in the next week. A milder Pacific air flow will push temperatures higher through at least Monday.

On the map below, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System upper-air flow model shows the milder pattern pushing into Minnesota between Friday evening and Monday morning.

NOAA GFS upper air forecast
Global Forecast System upper-air forecast between Friday evening and Monday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Highs Saturday will ease into the 50s in western Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday 2
Forecast high temperatures Saturday
NOAA

By Sunday, we’ll feel the warmup more clearly. Highs will be in the 60s in western Minnesota. We could see 60 degrees in the western Twin Cities by Sunday afternoon.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday
NOAA

Monday looks like the warmest day into early next week. The forecast high temperature map below looks conservative. I expect 60s will reach the Twin Cities Monday with a shot at 70 degrees in western Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Monday 3
Forecast high temperatures Monday
NOAA

Cooler temperatures in the 40s arrive Tuesday and Wednesday. But a milder south wind will boost temperatures again next Thursday and Friday. I expect more 50s and 60s by late next week.

Next week’s warmth is ahead of a low-pressure system that may bring some of the first thunderstorms to our region Friday evening. The system will produce rain and some snow on the backside.

NOAA GFS model
Global Forecast System model between Friday and Sunday March 15-16
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

It’s too early to be precise about precipitation timing and types but next weekend looks wet.

Stay tuned.