Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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I know we need rain, but we’re currently enjoying some very nice weather across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We’ll have a dry high pressure system overhead Friday night, then the high will drift eastward Saturday and Sunday. Most of us won’t see any rain this weekend.

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 81 degrees this time of year. Most of the metro area will see Saturday highs in the mid-80s. Highs in the 80s are expected across much of Minnesota Saturday afternoon:

A few spots in far northwestern Minnesota could touch 90 degrees. Northeastern Minnesota and much of western Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the upper 70s.

Saturday dew points will be in the very comfortable 40s for much of the day:

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Sunday highs in the 80s, with some lower 90s in parts of northwestern Minnesota:

Dew points creep into the upper 50s and lower 60s by Sunday afternoon:

Outdoor activities in Minnesota and western Wisconsin won’t be interrupted by rain this weekend. Here’s the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model simulated radar for Saturday through Sunday evening:

As of now, it looks like western Minnesota could see scattered showers and thunderstorms late Tuesday. All of Minnesota, plus western Wisconsin, will have a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday. Check back for forecast updates. 

Parts of southern Minnesota saw some meaningful rain last weekend, but it was a different story in the north. The Minnesota State Climatology Office has 

 of our Minnesota rainfall from August 4 through August 10: 

The Climatology Office posted these details on last weekend’s rain:

 shows that 95 percent of Minnesota is in drought right now, with slightly more than 7 percent (shaded dark red) in exceptional drought:

Extreme drought (medium red) covers almost 35 percent of Minnesota, from parts of northwestern through central Minnesota and also in portions of northeastern Minnesota.

Severe drought (orange) covers 36 percent of Minnesota, including most of the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. When added together, the severe drought, extreme drought and exceptional drought areas cover almost 78 percent of Minnesota.

The Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service has 

 many interesting details on the current drought situation in Minnesota. Here are some excerpts from the NWS report:

Here’s the NWS discussion of drought impacts:

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio 

, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News 

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.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

Last weekend we had a lot of clouds, and some of us saw some needed rain. This weekend will be much brighter, and it’s looking dry in most areas. We have the weekend forecast details, plus a drought update.

Summery but dry weekend; we have a closer look at our drought

Go Deeper.

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