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Welcome to the first big holiday weekend and the unofficial start of summer in Minnesota.

This weekend brings a mixed bag of dry and rainy hours. The good news? We’ll enjoy many more dry than rainy hours this weekend. We’ll also see abundant cloud cover, and fewer hours of sunshine.

I’ll be honest. The forecast models are not helping us time out specific rainfall zones and timing this weekend. The best chances for rain and thunder appear to be Sunday afternoon, and again Monday. 

NOAA’s NAM model grasps the concept of spotty pop-up showers Saturday, with the chance for a band of stronger thunderstorms rumbling across southern Minnesota Sunday afternoon. Then, a few more showers Memorial Day. We’ll have to walk and boat between the raindrops this weekend. But there will be opportunities.

It’s interesting how temperatures are so sunshine dependent this time of year. Areas that hang onto clouds all day will hover in the 70s. A couple hours of afternoon sun? Our air mass is warm enough to shoot up toward 80 degrees.

If we get enough sun, the best chance for hitting 80 degrees this weekend looks like Sunday afternoon.

The forecast models keep teasing us with notions of warmer temperatures ahead. The upper air pattern continue to favor warmer air as we approach early June.

NOAA’s eight- to 14-day outlook favors a building heat dome in the western U.S. that could spill into Minnesota around June 1.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

The first big holiday of summer brings clouds and a few showers. 

Mixed bag: More dry than rainy hours this weekend

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