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It’s a mixed bag of dry and rainy hours this weekend. In other words, it’s Memorial Day weekend in Minnesota. 

Our weekend weather pattern is coming into slightly clearer focus. Emphasis on slightly.

The big picture? There will be many dry hours to enjoy outside activities this weekend. But there will also be some rainy hours. Doppler watching will be a wise activity to give a few hours of lead time on the next shower waves.

Here’s the best read of what forecast models are saying on dry hours and rainfall timing this weekend. And who knows? Maybe you’ll see a stunning rainbow. Silver linings people.

The waves that will drive rainfall this weekend are small and stealthy. That makes timing more difficult than usual. That said, these look like the driest periods through this weekend as of late Thursday.

High temperatures this weekend favor the 70s across most of Minnesota. It looks pretty great to be outdoors during the dry hours.

Rain wave No. 1: Friday night/Saturday morning

The first rain-producing wave this weekend appears ready to move into southern Minnesota late Friday and into the Twin Cities late Friday night into early Saturday morning. 

NOAA’s NAM model paints a cluster of scattered showers and thundershowers moving across southern Minnesota from 7 p.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday.

A second wave of showers and possibly some strong thunderstorms appears ready to blow in Sunday. Again here’s NOAA’s NAM model. It shows two possible thunderstorm clusters. One tracks from southwest Minnesota Sunday morning into the Twin Cities by midday Sunday. A second wave arrives Sunday night.

One significant change in forecast models from yesterday is that many are now keeping some lingering scattered showers across Minnesota on Memorial Day. I know.

The European model suggests scattered thundershowers across Minnesota on Memorial Day. Here’s the current 7 p.m. Monday model output.

Stay tuned as the forecast models continue to refine timing on periods of sun and rain this weekend.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Rainfall timing is coming into slightly clearer focus this weekend.

Paul Huttner/MPR News

NOAA

NOAA via Weather Bell

NOAA NAM model between 7 am and 10 pm Sunday

European model (ECMWF) forecast for 7 pm Monday

Rainbow watch: Timing occasional showers and thunderstorms this weekend

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