Rain, wind, snow: Strong spring storm targets Minnesota Saturday

Friday brings pleasant weather ahead of a potent storm that will hit most of Minnesota with heavy rain, high winds, and areas of snow.

Friday’s forecast

Temperatures Friday morning ranged from teens in northeastern Minnesota to 20s and 30s for the rest of the state. The entire state will see highs in the 40s Friday, with much of southern Minnesota in the 50s, putting temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above average.

Most of the state will see a decent amount of sunshine through the day, under partly cloudy skies by afternoon. In the afternoon, a few light rain showers could start moving into southern Minnesota, and by Friday evening most of southern Minnesota will be seeing rain.

Rain, wind, and snow

The rain that moves in Friday is the leading edge of a strong spring storm that will bring areas of heavy rain, heavy snow, and high winds to different parts of the state. Only northwestern Minnesota may escape any precipitation with this storm.

The center of the storm will slide south of the state, so southern Minnesota will see the heaviest rain.

The southern half of the state will see a soaking rain Saturday, with many places seeing an inch of rain or more.

Southwestern Minnesota will likely see some rain totals over 2 inches, prompting a flood watch for that corner of the state.

While much of Minnesota will see winds increase Saturday and windy conditions by Saturday evening, southwestern Minnesota is likely to see the highest winds, gusting over 40 mph and causing driving rain.

Snow is also likely with this storm, especially Saturday night as temperatures cool. A swath cutting from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota is the most likely area to see a couple inches of snow accumulation.

The heaviest snow is most likely to be in the Arrowhead, where due to lake enhancement, some snow totals along Lake Superior could be 3 to 6 inches. This has prompted a winter storm watch for the area that begins Saturday afternoon.

Because of strong winds coming across the lake, areas around Duluth are also at risk for lake shore flooding.

The weather finally starts winding down Sunday morning as the storm moves away. By Sunday afternoon, sunshine will be spreading back across the state.

Extended forecast

While a couple disturbances bring a couple light rain and snow chances in the week ahead, it currently looks like there will be no other major storms next week.

Temperatures will also remain slightly above average most of the next week, with much of the state in the 40s and 50s. Here is the extended forecast for the Twin Cities:

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.