Unsettled weather and summer heat this week
Warmer temperatures and a few sunny days this past week have finally welcomed many of us to the outdoors after a drab and dreary April. Many painted turtles, like this one in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 7, were sunning and warming themselves on rocks and logs in shallow water.
Mother’s Day rain
Areas of rain have been spreading northeast across Minnesota for Mother’s Day. In most sections it has not been an all-day rain, just a nuisance to be planned around. Light rain continues to fall in far northeastern Minnesota in late afternoon. Scattered showers could pop through the evening in southeastern and maybe east central Minnesota.
Thunderstorms will spread from the Dakotas into western Minnesota Sunday night and then track northeast and cover much of northern parts of the state Monday morning. A marginal risk of severe weather (level 1 of 5) in darker green has been posted until 7 a.m. on Monday for much of western into central Minnesota.
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June in May
Summer heat arrives on Monday for most of the state. The Arrowhead will have highs just in the upper 50s, courtesy of a breeze off Lake Superior. Otherwise, northern parts of the state should have highs mainly in the upper 60s and 70s while about the southern half of the state will see 80s. The Twin Cities should have a high around 83. That’s much warmer than the two 74-degree days we have had so far.
Monday will be windy statewide. Wind Advisories have been posted for southern and western parts of the state. South or southwest wind will gust to around 45 mph in open areas of southern Minnesota and to near 55 mph in the northwest.
Storms late Monday, mainly east
The advancing weather pattern will trigger some late-day thunderstorms over eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday. There is a slight risk (level 2 of 5) in yellow for the southeastern corner of Minnesota and the La Crosse area of Wisconsin. Other parts of eastern Minnesota in the darker green will have a marginal risk.
Midweek surge of heat and humidity
After a pleasant Tuesday, summerlike heat and humidity will surge north on Wednesday. Look for lots of high temperatures in the 80s to low 90s on Wednesday and Thursday, although far northern parts will remain cooler. The Twin Cities might flirt with 90 on Thursday.
Numerous showers and thunderstorms are likely both Wednesday and Thursday as well. Severe storms are a distinct possibility.
Another outbreak of storms might shape up for next Saturday as a cold front arrives. Sunday would then be a much cooler day behind the cold front.
