Record highs Tuesday, then snow chances return

In true spring fashion (meteorological spring began March 1), Minnesota will go from record highs Tuesday to areas of accumulating snow Wednesday.

Tuesday’s forecast

In the wake of another mild day Monday, and with winds from the southeast overnight, temperatures fell little by Tuesday morning. Much of Minnesota started Tuesday in the 40s, which was 20 to 30 degrees above average for most of the state. 

That wind flow shifts more southerly through the day, and winds increase, gusting over 20 mph and possibly over 30s mph at times.

This keeps a very warm flow throughout the state, putting most of Minnesota in the 60s by the afternoon, with a few 70s possible southwest. This will shatter records across the state, and in the case of the Twin Cities, it will break a record going back over 140 years.

Other record highs that are likely to be broken Tuesday (for the date of March 9) include Rochester’s current record of 59, Brainerd’s current record of 58, and Moorhead’s current record of 58. Most of these records will be beaten by at least 5 degrees.

Wednesday’s storm

Clouds increase Tuesday evening, and late Tuesday night rain is expected to start moving in from the south. By Wednesday morning, most of southern Minnesota sees rain that lingers through the day, and there could even be a couple thunderstorms. For northern Minnesota, temperatures will be low enough that more snow mixes in the farther north you get.

The center of the storm is expected to track across southern Minnesota, bringing what is the equivalent of a half inch to an inch of rain across much of the state, with lighter amounts northwest.

That falls as almost all rain south, but with more snow north, this could come as a corridor of 2 to 4 inches of snow through central Minnesota, with some totals up to 6 inches in the Arrowhead.

It will be a wet, heavy snow because of the temperatures and some rain mixing in.

Cooler, but still mild

Wednesday’s storm also drops temperatures back closer to average for March. Wednesday sees highs in the 30s north (thus, the snow), to a few low 50s southeast, and Thursday most of the state has highs in the 40s. Southern Minnesota stays in the 40s through the end of the week, but northern Minnesota can expect cooler highs in the 30s and maybe a few 20s, especially Friday.

This is much more seasonable weather for the middle of March.  Here is that temperature forecast for the Twin Cities:

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.