Weekend weather: Comfortable temps; scattered thunderstorm chances Saturday

It’s nice to see some fairly quiet weather, although recent heavy rain and snowmelt have rivers and streams running very high in northeastern Minnesota. One area of concern is Minnesota Highway 61 at the Cascade River in the Arrowhead region:

My wife and I often take an autumn trip along the North Shore, so we were both amazed by this video of the Cascade River posted Friday by Bryan Hansel:

Flood warnings (light green) continue in parts of northeastern Minnesota, with a flood watch (darker green) in other areas:

Here are details of the flood warnings:

Flood Warning National Weather Service Duluth MN 847 AM CDT Fri May 13 2022 MNC031-075-171800- /O.NEW.KDLH.FA.W.0008.220513T1347Z-220517T1800Z/ /00000.0.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/ Cook MN-Lake MN- 847 AM CDT Fri May 13 2022 ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM CDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...Flooding caused by rain and snowmelt is expected. * WHERE...A portion of northeast Minnesota, including the following counties, Cook and Lake. * WHEN...Until 100 PM CDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring. Rivers and streams continue to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 836 AM CDT, Heavy rain and snowmelt are causing strong river rises due to excessive runoff. Flooding is already occurring in the warned area. - Rivers and streams draining from the high elevations of the North Shore of Lake Superior from Castle Danger to Grand Portage are running extremely high. Upland areas in Cook and Lake county are experiencing road washouts and closures. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Stay away or be swept away. River banks and culverts can become unstable and unsafe. Visitors to the North Shore need to respect the dangers of very high fast moving water. Please report observed flooding to local emergency services or law enforcement and request they pass this information to the National Weather Service when you can do so safely.

Updates on the flood situation in northeastern Minnesota can be found here.

Weekend temps and winds

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 69 degrees on May 14. Metro area highs are forecast to reach the mid to upper 70s on Saturday.

Highs will range from the 60s in northwestern Minnesota to near 80 in far southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin Saturday afternoon:

Saturday afternoon wind gusts could be around 20 mph in many areas, with gusts topping 30 mph in parts of far northwestern Minnesota:

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

Sunday highs will be in the 60s in northern Minnesota, with mainly lower 70s in the south:

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 20 to 25 mph range in most areas:

Scattered thunderstorm chances Saturday

A few scattered thunderstorms are possible Saturday, especially in northern Minnesota and from far southeastern Minnesota into southwestern Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 7 a.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday:

Forecast models show general rain patterns, but models cannot be expected to depict individual thunderstorms.

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.

Scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm could pop up in parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday afternoon and evening.

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.