Balmy Tuesday; outlooks trending colder through next week

March was nearly 5 degrees warmer than average; April may reverse that trend

Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
NOAA

March was a mild month for the Upper Midwest.

Temperatures ran about 5 degrees warmer than average in the Twin Cities last month. The relatively balmy air masses covered most of the Upper Midwest, except for the Red River Valley and northwest Minnesota.

30-day temperature departure from average
Thirty-day temperature departure from average.
Midwest Regional Climate Center

Springy Tuesday

Tuesday will renew your faith that spring will (eventually) take hold for good in Minnesota. Just not yet. Highs reach the upper 60s in southern Minnesota Tuesday. It will feel like July in Des Moines, Iowa, where temperatures make a run at 80 degrees.

Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
NOAA

One-hit wonder

Tuesday’s balmy air mass is a one-day affair. A cold front pushes south through Minnesota Wednesday. We’ll begin the painfully slow process of draining the last of the cold air from Canada and the Arctic Circle over the next week. Temperatures tumble the rest of this week into the weekend.

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Temperature forecast for Twin Cities
Temperature forecast for Twin Cities
NOAA

The average high and low in the Twin Cities by Saturday are 56 and 35.

Next week: Persistence

“The trend is your friend.”

That’s often true in weather. Once established, weather patterns often last for anywhere from one to six weeks. It looks like our chilly northwest flow in the upper atmosphere could last through most of next week.

Upper air forecast map for 7 pm April 13
Upper air forecast map for 7 p.m. April 13.
NOAA

Deep blue is the dominant color next week across the Midwest.

6 to 10-day temperature outlook
Six- to 10-day temperature outlook
NOAA

There are signs of a possible pattern change with warmer air returning again after next week.

Stay tuned.