Windy Saturday; northern Minn. could see some p.m. flakes

60s return next Tuesday

Let’s start with weekend temperatures.

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 51 degrees on Oct. 31. Many spots in the metro area could touch 50 degrees this Saturday. Parts of southern Minnesota will reach the lower 50s, while northern Minnesota will have highs in the 40s:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Falling temps are expected Saturday afternoon in northern Minnesota. Twin Cities metro area temps will fall through the 40s as we go through Saturday evening. Colder air spreads across Minnesota overnight Saturday night, and most areas will top out in the 30s on Sunday:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Windy Saturday

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Winds will gust from 25 to 35 mph in many areas Saturday and Saturday evening. Even higher gusts, in the 35 to 50 mph range, are possible in northwestern Minnesota and parts of west-central Minnesota:

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Saturday 1 p.m. forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Plotted values are in knots, with 21 knots equal to around 24 mph and 30 knots equal to around 35 mph.

A wind advisory has been issued for northwestern Minnesota and a portion of west-central Minnesota for Saturday afternoon and evening:

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Wind advisory Saturday afternoon/evening
National Weather Service

Winds won’t be quite as strong on Sunday, but it’ll still be breezy:

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Sunday noon forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

19 knots is equal to around 22 mph.

Rain and snow chances Saturday

Northern Minnesota could see some scattered rain showers and snow showers on Saturday, followed by some areas of snow showers Saturday evening. Central and southern Minnesota, plus western 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 through Saturday night:

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Simulated radar Saturday morning through Saturday night
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Warmer days ahead

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 50s on Monday, followed by lower 60s Tuesday through Thursday.  Highs retreat slightly, to the upper 50s, on Friday.

The temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency toward above-normal temps in Minnesota and Wisconsin from Nov. 5 through Nov. 9:

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Temperature outlook Nov. 5 through Nov. 9
NWS Climate Prediction Center

We’ll see if that pans out.

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.