Summery, with a shower/t-storm chance Saturday; sunny and cooler Sunday
My wife and I enjoyed a mosquito-free evening on our front porch Friday.
The gorgeous weather was probably a factor in the smiling faces of the people that walked by our house.
It would be great if we could bottle up a few of those pleasant evenings and revisit them in November!
Rain opportunities
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Scattered showers and a few embedded thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows general (non-severe) thunderstorms for parts of Minnesota this Saturday and Saturday night:
There could be some gusty winds near any thunderstorms that do develop.
In the Twin Cities metro area, the shower/isolated thunderstorm chance is anytime from around mid-afternoon into this evening.
After tonight, out next chance of rain in most of Minnesota will be Tuesday afternoon and evening, and there's a good chance of rain on Wednesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern Tuesday through Wednesday:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the precipitation rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain.
Temperature trends
Saturday highs are expected to reach the 60s in north-central and northeastern Minnesota, with mainly 70s in central Minnesota. Some spots in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area could creep into the lower 80s.
Our average high temp in the Twin Cities metro area is 66 degrees this time of year.
Sunday will be the coolest day of the weekend, with highs in the 60s over most of Minnesota:
Some spots in the metro area and southern Minnesota could touch 70 degrees Sunday afternoon.
Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to be in the mid 70s Monday, around 70 on Tuesday and in the upper 60s Wednesday.
Late ice-out on Lake Minnetonka
According to the Freshwater Society:
It’s getting close! Freshwater Society and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Water Patrol are monitoring Lake Minnetonka for ice-out, when the lake is determined to be ice free. April 14 is the median date — when half the recorded ice-outs have occurred earlier and half later. In the last twenty years, 15 dates have been earlier than the median date and five have been on or later. This year’s ice-out is on track to tie or beat the record for latest ice-out — May 5, 1857.
The Freshwater Society chart of Lake Minnetonka ice-out dates is interesting:
You'll notice that there is no entry for 1856.
In a 2003 column, Freshwater Society founder Dick Gray noted the following:
The latest ice-out date of May 8, 1856, was found in a letter written by a Lake Minnetonka mother to her daughter.
There must be some question about that 1856 ice out date.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has ice-out information for many Minnesota lakes.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday