Cool first day of meteorological spring
Warmer temps return on Tuesday
Do you want to celebrate spring on Monday? You could justify doing so, since March 1 is the first day of meteorological spring.
NOAA has this explanation of meteorological seasons vs. astronomical seasons:
Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar. We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the warmest time of the year, with spring and fall being the transition seasons, and that is what the meteorological seasons are based on. Meteorological spring includes March, April, and May; meteorological summer includes June, July, and August; meteorological fall includes September, October, and November; and meteorological winter includes December, January, and February.
If you are curious about astronomical spring, it begins on March 20 this year. You might want to celebrate spring on March 1 and March 20!
Snow chance early Monday
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Some light snow could move into northwestern Minnesota this Sunday evening, then spread southeastward overnight. The Twin Cities metro area will have a chance of light snow showers anytime between about 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Monday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday evening through 9 a.m. on Monday:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Tuesday through Friday are looking pretty dry in Minnesota.
Temperature trends
Monday highs will be in the teens in northern Minnesota, with 20s in the south:
Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area will probably see highs in the mid 20s. Our average Twin Cities high temp is 34 degrees on March 1.
Monday winds will be lighter, with gusts mainly the 10-15 mph range:
Plotted wind gusts are in knots, with 11 knots equal to 12.7 mph.
Back to temps, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 40s Tuesday, followed by mid 40s Wednesday, upper 40s Thursday, and mid 40s on Friday. Highs in the 40s are also expected next weekend.
Above-normal temps may linger into the second week of March. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a strong chance of above-normal temps in Minnesota and western Wisconsin from March 8 through March 14:
We’ll let you know if that outlook changes.
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.