Rain chances return Wednesday
Much colder weather targets Minnesota
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Active weather keeps much of the week windier, brings a couple chances for rain and even snow, and turns temperatures much colder the second half of the week.
Tuesday’s forecast
Much like Monday, Tuesday began milder than average, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
An area of low pressure moving through the state Tuesday morning is bringing a few light rain showers across both the Arrowhead and the southern border of Minnesota.
Rain moves out quickly through the morning, then winds pick up into the afternoon. Especially northern Minnesota could see gusts over 30 and 40 mph.
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Under those breezy conditions, but also widespread sunshine during the afternoon, highs will be very typical for mid-October with 50s in northern Minnesota, and low 60s south.
Wednesday’s forecast
The weather turns even more active Wednesday, with a storm expected to track directly across Minnesota. This keeps conditions windy and brings rain chances across the state, particularly for northern Minnesota, which will fall on the north side of the low pressure.
Especially for the Arrowhead, rain totals will likely be over one-half inch, while southern Minnesota is likely to see little to no rain. It will also be cold enough early Wednesday morning that a little snow could mix in with the rain in northern Minnesota.
High temperatures will also vary Wednesday, with the northern edge of the state only in the 40s, while southern Minnesota, with less rain and a warmer wind flow, make it into the 60s.
Cold weather settles in
The biggest impact from Wednesday’s storm is much colder air behind the weather system. Highs for the entire state only make it into the 40s Thursday, and temperatures remain 10 to 20 degrees below average for the rest of the week.
Here is the Twin Cities forecast through Friday showing that drop:
Overnight lows by the end of the week will only be in the 20s and 30s, meaning widespread freeze conditions.
It will be cold enough that when the next weather system moves through Minnesota on Saturday, northern portions of the state could see some accumulating snow mix in.
The weather next week looks similarly cold.
In fact, the national temperature outlook targets Minnesota as the most likely spot in the entire country to see below-average temperatures.
Be ready to bundle up!
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.
