Weekend forecast: Winds pick up; mildest temps on Saturday
Flakes possible Saturday afternoon in northern Minnesota
How about that weekend?
Let’s start with temperatures. Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 51 degrees on Oct. 31. It looks like some spots in the metro area could touch 50 this Saturday.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model gives the Twin Cities a Saturday high in the lower 50s. Other forecast models show metro area highs in the 40s.
Highs in the 40s are expected across much of Minnesota this Saturday, with lower 50s in western Wisconsin:
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Winds will pick up on Saturday, with afternoon wind gusts of 20-30 mph and even higher gusts in parts of northwestern Minnesota:
Plotted values are in knots, with 21 knots equal to around 24 mph and 26 knots equal to around 30 mph.
Back to temps, cooler air will spread across Minnesota and western Wisconsin by Sunday, giving us highs in the 30s.
Wind gusts of 20-35 mph are expected on Sunday.
Any rain or snow?
Northern Minnesota could see a few rain showers at times on Saturday. The rain showers could mix with some snowflakes by late Saturday afternoon and areas of snow showers are possible in the north Saturday evening.
Parts of eastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin will have a chance of scattered sprinkles Saturday afternoon and evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows this potential precipitation pattern Saturday afternoon through Saturday 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.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.