Saturday periods of rain and thunder; spotty rain possible Sunday
A look at the week ahead
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Weekend rain can disrupt outdoor plans, but we do need the rain that’s in our forecast.
This June, we’re seeing dry areas where the grass is usually lush green this time of year:
The official rainfall at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 2.67 inches below normal for the first 25 days of June.
Drought update
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The weekly drought update from U.S. Drought Monitor shows moderate drought (shaded beige) in much of Minnesota, with areas of severe drought (shaded orange) in parts of far southern Minnesota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota:
The areas shaded yellow are abnormally dry, but not yet in drought, according to U.S. Drought Monitor.
The table to the right of the map indicates that 74.75 percent of Minnesota is in drought right now, with abnormally dry conditions elsewhere in Minnesota. One year ago, just 17.14 percent of Minnesota was experiencing drought conditions.
Saturday rain and thunder
Northern and western Minnesota will have showers at times this Saturday and Saturday evening, with an few thunderstorms also possible. Periods of rain and embedded thunderstorms are likely in south-central and southeastern Minnesota, the Twin Cities metro area and much of western Wisconsin this Saturday and Saturday evening.
The highest Saturday/Saturday evening rain totals are expected to be in south-central and southeastern Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin:
The southern portions of the Twin Cities metro area could see one inch or more of needed rain, with lower totals expected in the northern part of the metro area.
Areas that receive more thunderstorms will see localized heavy rain amounts. You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Sunday rain chances
A few scattered showers and thunderstorms could develop on Sunday and linger into Sunday evening. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from sunrise on Sunday through Sunday evening:
Temperature trends
Saturday highs will be mainly in the upper 70s in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with a few spots touching 80.
Sunday highs will reach the lower 80s in several spots, with 70s elsewhere:
Our average Twin Cities high temp is 82 degrees this time of year.
Sunday afternoon dew points will be mainly in the 50s to around 60:
Back to forecast highs, Twin Cities metro area high temps are projected to reach the mid 80s on Monday, followed by lower 80s Tuesday and mid 80s on Wednesday. We’ll top out around 80 on Thursday and Friday.
Temperatures may tick a bit upward for the Fourth of July and the start of the following week. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency for above-normal temps in Minnesota and western Wisconsin from July 3 through July 9:
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.
