Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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We’ll have a summery Saturday in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area, with many spots topping 80. Our average Twin Cities high temp is 75 degrees this time of year. Saturday highs will be mainly in the 70s elsewhere in Minnesota, with a few 60s up near the Canadian border.

Smoke from western U.S. wildfires is expected to remain aloft over much of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin today. At this point the smoke isn’t expected to impact our air quality near the ground. The smoke layer will filter out some of our sunshine. Updates on Minnesota air quality can be found at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 

A few scattered showers could move into far northwestern Minnesota late Saturday afternoon. The shower chance expands into north-central and northeastern Minnesota during the evening and overnight hours. 

Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms are possible in southern Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin after midnight Saturday night. A shower or thunderstorm could also clip portions of the Twin Cities metro area after midnight. 

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a marginal risk (shaded dark-green) of severe weather Saturday evening and overnight in south-central and southeastern Minnesota and on into portions of Wisconsin:

Marginal risk means that an isolated severe t-storm is possible.

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 

Sunday highs will be mainly in the 70s, with 60s in roughly the northern third of Minnesota:

Sunday dew points will be in the comfortable 40s and 50s:

Back to forecast high temps, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 70s on Monday, followed by lower 70s Tuesday, mid 70s Wednesday and around 80 Thursday. Highs then retreat to the upper 70s Friday.

Our best rain chances in the Twin Cities this coming week appear to be Monday afternoon into Monday evening and Thursday night into early Friday.

, which was released Thursday morning, shows that 85.6 percent of Minnesota is in drought right now, with almost 6 percent (shaded dark red) in exceptional drought:

Extreme drought (shaded medium red) covers almost 31 percent of Minnesota. The extreme drought area stretches across a wide swath of northern Minnesota.

Most of the seven-county Twin Cities metro area is in moderate drought, according to U.S. Drought Monitor.

We had some very chilly weather at this time last year. Our Twin Cities high was 59 degrees on Sept. 11, 2020.  That was after a high of 60 on Sept. 10, 50 degrees on Sept. 9 and 52 degrees on Sept. 8 2020.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

The weather will cooperate with most outdoor plans this weekend. We have the details, including who could see some rain. We also take a look at the week ahead.

A summery Saturday; temps retreat on Sunday

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