Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

More winter than spring this week, 50s in sight?

A cold week gives way to a milder pattern next week.

NOAA GFS temperature output for 6 pm Sunday March 20
NOAA GFS temperature output for 6 pm Sunday, March 20.
NOAA via pivotal weather

Meteorological spring is here, but atmospheric winter is still in charge of the air mass over Minnesota this week.

Our weather looks quiet this week, but cold. There may be a few minor snow showers Tuesday and Friday, otherwise little precipitation is expected this week.

Tuesday looks like the warmest day this week. Highs will make the 30s across southern Minnesota, with 20s in the north.

Forecast high temperatures Tuesday
Forecast high temperatures Tuesday.
NOAA

Our next cold front sweeping south pushes yet one more frigid Canadian air mass over Minnesota Wednesday into Saturday. High temperatures Wednesday through Saturday will hover in the lower 20s across southern Minnesota with teens up north.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Friday.
NOAA

Overnight lows will dip below zero once again cross most of northern Minnesota this week. This March is slightly reminiscent of those classic Die Hard battery commercials of the 1970s.

Pattern change next week

The upper air forecast strongly suggests a pattern change that will push a more westerly Pacific flow into Minnesota by early next week.

Upper air forecast map for 6 pm March 14
Upper air forecast map for 6 pm March 15.
NOAA

That should push temperatures into the 40s across southern Minnesota as early as Sunday.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday pm
Forecast high temperatures Sunday.
NOAA

The longer-range forecasts suggest an even milder push of air the following week, with a growing chance of 50s in the March 19-21 time frame.

NOAA GFS temperature output for 6 pm Sunday March 20
NOAA GFS temperature output for 6 pm Sunday, March 20.
NOAA via pivotal weather

This could be the shift we’re looking for that could finally signal the start of more consistent springlike weather in Minnesota.

Stay tuned.