The warmer weather is back and it sticks around
Gusty winds across Minnesota Tuesday
Mild weather returns Tuesday and persists into at least mid-March, leading to a widespread snow melt.
Tuesday’s forecast
Thanks to warm southerly winds overnight, the state started mild Tuesday morning, with most of the state in the upper teens and 20s, and a few spots in western Minnesota in the 30s.
In fact, for some areas, rising overnight temperatures have Tuesday morning warmer than all of Monday. For example, Moorhead had afternoon temperatures in the teens Monday, with the high of 20 set at the end of the day. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, thanks to increasing temperatures overnight, the temperature was already up to 27.
Those gusty southerly winds persist through the day, with most of the state seeing gusts of 20 to 30 mph, and southwestern Minnesota may see gusts over 40 mph.
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The warm wind flow combined with sunshine pushes highs for most of the state into the 40s, which is about 10 to 15 degrees above average.
Southwestern Minnesota could even see a couple 50s.
Extended forecast
The warm winds of Tuesday die down by Wednesday, and without that warmer flow, northern Minnesota sees a few more highs back in the 30s while southern Minnesota stays in the 40s.
But by Thursday, most of the state sees afternoons back in the 40s, with temperatures increasing slightly as we head toward the weekend. Southwestern Minnesota is likely to get occasional 50s.
Here is that forecast for the Twin Cities through the weekend:
Widespread melting begins again due to the warmth, which will erode the snowpack even more. Portions of western Minnesota are already seeing snow-free areas. As more of the snow disappears across the state, temperatures will be able to get even higher next week, and more 50s and possibly a few 60s are likely in southern Minnesota.
Meanwhile, dry skies prevail through the end of the week. Here is the total forecast moisture through Saturday:
The pattern shifts next week, which brings precipitation chances back in, although it will be so mild rain would be more likely than snow.
Any wet weather would be beneficial, because the entire state is drier than average, with portions of northern and western Minnesota in drought conditions as we head into spring.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.