Weekend warmup, but breezy
Minnesotans know that the month of March is often a temperature rollercoaster.
Twin Cities high temperatures on Thursday and Friday were in the lower 30s, which is a few degrees below normal.
Highs will rebound into the 40s Saturday afternoon over much of southern and central Minnesota.
Sunday's highs will be even warmer, with many spots in central and southern Minnesota reaching 60 degrees:
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.
Areas of southeastern Minnesota that still have significant snow on the ground will top out in the 50s.
Parts of southwestern Minnesota could reach the mid 60s.
On Monday, a cold front moves into northwestern Minnesota, but central and southeastern Minnesota will reach the 60s:
Southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area will probably see highs back in the 40s for Tuesday through Thursday.
Rain chances
Minnesota could see a passing sprinkle early Sunday, and scattered showers Sunday evening. Showers are possible Sunday night and early Monday, with another batch of showers and possibly a thunderstorm Monday afternoon and evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the radar signal returning to the radar, not inches of rain!
There is the possibility of an isolated strong thunderstorm in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin late Monday.
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather over part of far southeastern Minnesota Monday and Monday night:
A marginal risk is one category lower than slight risk on SPC outlooks.
GOES-16
NOAA's newest weather satellite, GOES-16, is not yet operational, but it is sending us experimental images that are very impressive:
GOES-16 will deliver higher resolution images and more frequent images than its predecessor.
It also will send lightning data, which will help meteorologists track the growth and intensity of thunderstorms from above.
For additional GOES-16 images, you can check out NOAA's image gallery.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.