Windy Monday, with scattered showers and possibly some thunder; 70 on Wednesday?

We’ve seen gusty winds this weekend, but Monday’s winds will be much stronger.

Winds gusts of 30-40 mph are on tap for Monday. The strong winds will combine with low relative humidity levels to increase the danger for the spread of any wildfires that may develop. That’s why the National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch from 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. Monday for most of southern and central Minnesota, plus portions of northeastern Minnesota:

Duluth is one of the northeastern Minnesota cities included in the fire weather watch on Monday:

Here are details of the fire weather watch, which includes the Twin Cities metro area:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 239 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2020 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS POSSIBLE MONDAY... .Strong westerly winds will return Monday with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range. Humidity values will fall into the 20s in the afternoon across much of western and central Minnesota. East central and south central Minnesota may see relative humidity values remain above critical thresholds if cloud cover and scattered showers are sufficient. However, there is still uncertainty with respect to clouds and precipitation, and the potential for deep mixing, low humidities, and gusty winds exists in those areas as well. As a result, a fire weather watch has been issued for the entire Minnesota portion of the forecast area for Monday. MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-200345- /O.NEW.KMPX.FW.A.0001.200420T1300Z-200420T2300Z/ Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stevens-Pope-Stearns- Benton-Sherburne-Isanti-Chisago-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa- Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington- Yellow Medicine-Renville-McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota- Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth- Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault-Freeborn- 239 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2020 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA FOR LOW HUMIDITIES AND STRONG WINDS... The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued a Fire Weather Watch, which is in effect from Monday morning through Monday afternoon. * AFFECTED AREA...Locations near and south of a line from Morris to Alexandria, Little Falls, Mora, and Rush City. * WIND...Northwest sustained near 25 mph, with gusts of 35 to 40 mph. * HUMIDITY...20 to 30 percent. * THUNDERSTORMS...Slight chance, mainly east of I-35. * IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.

Temperature trends

Monday highs are expected to range from the 40s in far northern Minnesota to the lower 60s in parts of far southern Minnesota:

The Twin Cities metro area may hit 60, which is our average high temp this time of year.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 50s Tuesday, then around 70 degrees on Wednesday, followed by mid 60s Thursday and around 60 on Friday.

By the way, far southern Minnesota could see some highs in the lower 70s on Wednesday:

Monday precipitation chances

Northern Minnesota is expected to see some areas of rain showers and snow showers on Monday. Scattered rain showers are possible elsewhere in Minnesota, plus western Wisconsin, Monday into Monday evening. There could also be a thunderstorm Monday afternoon and Monday evening in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Monday and Monday evening:

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.