Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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If variety truly is the spice of life, then Minnesota’s weather looks plenty spicy in the next week. And Minnesota is going to taste a weather smorgasbord over the next several days.

Today’s weather is about as close to perfection as we get in Minnesota. Highs in the 70s and low 80s and comfortable dew points in the 40s and 50s make for very comfortable conditions.

Minnesota’s air mas is much more comfortable today than areas further south. Heat indices reach the 90s in Iowa to over 100 degrees in Oklahoma. 

Saturday will be the nicer day of the weekend for most of Minnesota. Heat and humidity return Sunday. The best chances for storms arrive Sunday.

NOAA’s NAM 3 km resolution model suggests a few thunderstorms in southwest Minnesota Saturday. Then another wave likely crosses the state overnight Saturday night into Sunday morning. 

The best chance for rain and thunder in the Twin Cities this weekend appears to be before or around dawn Sunday morning. Behind the warm front, the southwest half of Minnesota busts into a warm steamy air mass Sunday afternoon.

Monday brings a one-day heatwave to Minnesota. A sunny but hazy, hot, and humid air mass blows in. Highs should easily reach the 90s across much of Minnesota Monday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Cristobal moisture Tuesday?

 is still on track for a Gulf Coast landfall late Sunday or Monday. It’s interesting to note that parts of Minnesota are in the “cone of uncertainty” for Cristobal’s eventual path as it shoots north up the Mississippi Valley and transitions to tropical depression status early next week.

Mositure from Cristobal will be injected and absorbed into another low-pressure system crossing the Upper Midwest next week. That could enhance rainfall totals. The European model suggests multi-inch rainfall for eastern Iowa, parts of Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

So in less than a week, we enjoy perfect early summer weather, thunderstorms, 90-degree heat and humidity, and rainfall from a tropical system.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Get ready for a wide variety of weather over the next week in Minnesota.

NOAA

Oklahoma Mesonet

NOAA via tropical tidbits

NOAA/National Hurricane Center

European model (ECMWF) precipitation output

Spicy forecast: Sun, rain, 90-degree heat and a tropical storm?

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