Weekend forecast: Saturday p.m. rain chance in some areas; dry on Mother's Day

I’ll get to the weekend forecast shortly. First, I have an update on the red flag warnings in parts of Minnesota this Thursday afternoon and evening.

The red-shaded areas on the following two maps have red flag warnings due to dangerous fire weather conditions from noon to 8 p.m. this Thursday:

I should mention that all of northwestern Minnesota is also in a red flag warning this afternoon and evening.

The seven-county Twin Cities metro area is not in the red flag warning Thursday, but counties to the northwest and north of the metro area are included in the red flag warning. Here are details of the central Minnesota portion of the red flag warning:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 313 AM CDT Thu May 6 2021 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA DUE TO VERY LOW HUMIDITY AND GUSTY WINDS... .Temperatures will rise into the low to mid 60s this afternoon and RH is expected to drop to between 15 and 20 percent. Northwest winds will increase during the late morning with frequent gusts of 25 to 30 mph through early evening, resulting in critical fire weather conditions. MNZ041>045-047>052-054>059-064>066-061700- /O.UPG.KMPX.FW.A.0001.210506T1700Z-210507T0100Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.FW.W.0004.210506T1700Z-210507T0100Z/ Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stevens-Pope-Stearns- Benton-Sherburne-Isanti-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa-Kandiyohi- Meeker-Wright-Yellow Medicine-Renville-McLeod- 313 AM CDT Thu May 6 2021 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR FOR GUSTY WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA... The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is in effect from noon today to 8 PM CDT this evening. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect. * AFFECTED AREA...Much of central Minnesota. * WIND...Northwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts around 30 mph. * HUMIDITY...As low as 15 to 20 percent. * IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now....or will shortly. A combination of strong winds...low relative humidity...and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

Cool weekend

Even cool spring days can be enjoyable:

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 67 degrees on May 8. Metro area highs may creep to 60 degrees or slightly above 60 this Saturday. Most of Minnesota will see Saturday highs in the mid to upper 50s, with lower 60s in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Parts of western Minnesota will see Saturday wind gusts of 15-20 mph, with lighter winds to the east:

Plotted forecast gusts are in knots, with 14 knots equal to 16 mph.

Back to temperatures, Sunday highs will be in the 50s in most areas, with some 40s near Lake Superior.

A few spots in the metro area could briefly touch 60 Sunday afternoon, and winds will be fairly light.

Saturday p.m. rain chances

West-central and southwestern Minnesota could see some periods of rain showers Saturday afternoon. The rain shower chance spreads to the east and southeast Saturday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Saturday afternoon and evening:

Sunday still looks dry, which is great news for anyone with outdoor plans this Mother’s Day.

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.

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.