Weekend weather: Chilly temps; winds will be strongest on Saturday

I’ll get to the Saturday and Sunday forecast shortly, but I first want to mention the wind advisories that continue this Friday afternoon/early evening.

There’s is a tight pressure gradient across Minnesota right now, giving us strong winds. A wind advisory continues until 7 p.m. this Friday for much of central and southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area:

Here are details of the wind advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1044 AM CDT Fri Mar 25 2022 MNZ042>044-049>052-057>063-065>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-260000- /O.CON.KMPX.WI.Y.0007.000000T0000Z-220326T0000Z/ Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Stearns-Benton-Sherburne-Isanti- Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Renville- McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Le Sueur- Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault- Freeborn- Including the cities of Long Prairie, Little Falls, Princeton, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Cambridge, Willmar, Litchfield, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, Redwood Falls, New Ulm, St Peter, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, St James, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth, and Albert Lea 1044 AM CDT Fri Mar 25 2022 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, southeast and southwest Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 7 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Scattered snow showers are expected to develop today. The strong winds during times of these snow showers may combine to produce brief periods of significantly reduced visibility. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a hig

Northwestern Minnesota also has a wind advisory until 7 p.m.:

Winds could gust to 55 mph in parts of northwestern Minnesota this Friday afternoon.

In addition to the strong winds, northern Minnesota will have some snow showers at times today, with periods of rain showers and snow showers in portions of central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Chilly weekend

We had unusually warm temps last weekend, with Twin Cities highs of 54 degrees on Saturday and 60 on Sunday. Much cooler temps are on tap for this weekend.

Low temperatures early Saturday morning will range from single digits above zero in far northern Minnesota to upper teens in the south:

Saturday highs will be mainly in the 20s in northern Minnesota, with 30s in central and southern Minnesota and much of western Wisconsin:

Our Saturday forecast high of 34 degrees in the Twin Cities will be 13 degrees cooler than our average March 26 high temperature.

Saturday wind gusts will be over 20 mph in most areas:

Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 18 knots equal to 20.7 mph.

Twin Cities metro area wind chill temps will be in the single digits early Saturday morning, then in the 20s Saturday afternoon.

Low temperatures early Sunday morning will range from slightly below zero in far northern Minnesota to the upper teens in southern Minnesota:

Sunday highs will range from 20s in far northern Minnesota to 30s in central and southern Minnesota:

Sunday wind gusts will be fairly light, generally under 12 mph:

Dry in most areas

Most of Minnesota won’t see any snow or rain this Saturday and Sunday. There could be a few scattered snow showers in parts of northeastern Minnesota and far northwestern Wisconsin early Saturday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. on Sunday:

Still plenty of snow up north

Snow lovers will be interested to know that there’s still plenty of snow on the ground in much of northern Minnesota. Here’s the weekly snow depth map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

Most of north-central and northeastern Minnesota has 12 inches or more of snow on the ground and parts of northeastern Minnesota (especially Cook County and eastern Lake County) have 24 inches or more of snow cover.

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.