Mild weekend temps; shower and t-storm chances in some areas

It’s great to get outdoors for awhile in these days of social distancing. Our weekend weather will cooperate with most of your plans to walk, jog, run or take a bike ride. Be alert to the possibility of lightning Saturday afternoon and evening.

Western Minnesota and far southern Minnesota appear to have the best chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms this Saturday afternoon and evening. Some very scattered showers and an isolated t-storm will also be possible this afternoon/evening in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Much of Sunday will be dry, but the newest forecast model info shows scattered showers in northeastern Minnesota Sunday morning, with scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm possible Sunday afternoon and early Sunday 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 Sunday and Sunday evening:

Notice that some showers move into northwestern Minnesota late Sunday 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.

Mild temps

Saturday afternoon highs will be mainly in the 60s across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and a few spots could touch 70. Highs in the 50s are expected in parts of northeastern Minnesota, and a few spots up along the North Shore might only reach the upper 40s. I’m expecting Saturday afternoon highs in the upper 60s for most of the Twin Cities metro area, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a stray 70. Our average Twin Cities high temp is 63 degrees this time of year.

Sunday highs will reach the 60s in most areas, with a few 50s in parts of the northeast:

Sunday afternoon will be a bit breezy at times:

Plotted values are in knots, with 13 knots equal to around 15 mph.

Back to temperatures, much of central and southern Minnesota will see highs in the 70s on Monday:

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

How dry has it been?

Some areas had spotty showers Friday afternoon and evening. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport saw only a trace of rain Friday, which was the 10th consecutive day without measurable rain or snow at MSP airport. Through Friday, our April Twin Cities precipitation total (rain plus water content of snow) was running 1.16 inches below normal.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.