Lighter winds Monday; soggy Monday night into Wednesday

Warm (for March)

The peak wind gust Sunday afternoon at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 43 mph. The Sunday high of 63 degrees at MSP airport was well above our average March 21 high of 44.

Temps back off a bit on Monday, but we’ll enjoy much lighter winds.

Temperature trends

Monday highs will reach the 40s in the northern third of Minnesota, with 50s elsewhere:

Monday afternoon wind gusts will be 12 mph or less in most areas:

Plotted gusts are in knots, with 8 knots equal to slightly over 9 mph. Winds will be a bit higher in the far northeast and far southwestern corners of Minnesota.

Back to temperatures, Twin Cities highs are projected to reach the lower 50s Tuesday, followed by mid 40s Wednesday, then upper 40s Thursday and Friday.

Here’s a look at statewide temps on Wednesday, which will be the coolest day of the week:

Soggy weather Monday night into Wednesday

Northern Minnesota has the best chance of showers this Sunday evening, with scattered showers or sprinkles possible elsewhere.

The daylight hours of Monday will be dry in most of Minnesota, but far southern Minnesota will have a chance of afternoon showers. A low pressure system will spin moisture over most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Monday night into Tuesday and Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern for Monday evening through Tuesday evening:

The Twin Cities metro area will see mainly rain Monday night into Wednesday. The rain could mix with snow or change to snow at times from west-central Minnesota into north-central and northeastern Minnesota late Tuesday into Wednesday.

Precipitation totals Monday evening through Wednesday night could be in the 1 to 2 inch range in many areas:

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.

Welcome rains

Many parts of Minnesota are very dry. The most recent report from U.S. Drought Monitor indicated moderate drought (shaded beige) over much of the northern third of Minnesota, plus parts of west-central and southwestern Minnesota:

Portions of Kittson County in far northwestern Minnesota and Rock County in far southwestern Minnesota are in severe drought. The yellow-shaded area (which includes the Twin Cities metro) is listed as abnormally dry, but not yet in drought. By the way, western Wisconsin is also listed as abnormally dry by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

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.