Flood watches are posted for the southern half of Minnesota ahead of a round of storms that could bring 1-4 inches of rain

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It’s an interesting time of year for Minnesota weather watchers. 

The sun is higher and warmer now. Daylight glows past 6 p.m. in the west on clear evenings. Snow cover is gradually fading. We can feel that the season formerly known as spring is coming.

But then our Minnesota weather protective reflex kicks in. We know the maps can spin up a foot of heavy wet snow instantly. We know it snows here in March, and probably April. And as the past two Aprils have shown us, it might be a doozy. 

That’s why we meteorologists watch the maps with both interest and skepticism as March arrives Sunday. Suggest an early spring and get a foot of snow? Cue the gnarly emails.

Our mild week so far closes on seasonably chilly notes. The average high and low temperatures for this day in the Twin Cities are 32 and 17 degrees. Highs hover in the 20s through Friday. Milder air begins to push back this weekend. Highs push 40 degrees again next week.

The medium-range upper-air maps suggest next week’s milder Pacific flow could linger into the second week of March. If the suggested pattern below verifies, it would likely bring the warmest temperatures in several months into the Upper Midwest around March 10-11.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 8- to 14-day temperature outlook favors milder-than-average temperatures overall into the second week of March.

Right now I don’t see any big snowstorms spinning up and tracking toward Minnesota. But as we know maps can change quickly as the volatile month of March approaches.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

The medium-range weather maps favor a mild start to March in the Upper Midwest.

Seasonably chilly now; 40s again next week

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