Weekend weather: Wet Saturday into Sunday morning; cool temps

The weekend is approaching and many people have outdoor plans. Make sure that your Saturday plans are flexible. Periods of rain are likely.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday:

The highest Saturday rain totals are expected to be in western Minnesota. Eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see periods of rain on Saturday. A few thunderstorms are also possible on Saturday.

The rain will gradually shift to the north as we go through Sunday. Southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area could see some Sunday morning showers, with an isolated shower chance Sunday afternoon. Northern Minnesota is expected to see periods of showers through much of Sunday.

Weekend temps and winds

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 63 degrees on April 30. The metro area will probably reach the upper 50s Saturday afternoon. Most of central and southern Minnesota, plus western Wisconsin, will have Saturday highs in the 50s, with 40s in northern Minnesota:

Saturday wind gusts could top 30 mph in parts of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 27 knots equal to 31 mph.

Back to temperatures, most of Minnesota will have highs in the 40s on Saturday, with some 50s from the Twin Cities metro area into southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 12-20 mph range in many areas.

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.