Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Cool Wednesday soaker; summery Memorial Day weekend ahead

Highs in the 80s this weekend for southern Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Monday
Forecast high temperatures Memorial Day.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

At least it’s a weekday.

Our chilly Wednesday rain system feels more like April or October than late May. But the weather maps look more like June for the first of the big three warm-season holiday weekends in Minnesota.

As of early afternoon Wednesday, the storm total rainfall algorithm from the Doppler radar in the Twin Cities shows the heaviest rains across southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The areas in yellow indicate more than 1 inch of rainfall.

Storm total precipitation estimates from Twin Cities radar
Storm total precipitation estimates from Twin Cities radar through midday Wednesday.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Weather Underground

Here are a few select preliminary rainfall totals through midday:

  • Winona, 1.4 inches

  • Rochester area, 1.37 inches

  • Austin, .82 inch

  • Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, .47 inch

Rainfall will gradually taper off from west to east through Wednesday afternoon.

Summery pattern ahead

The weather maps transition to what look like an early summer pattern as we move into the Memorial Day weekend. Clouds linger in eastern Minnesota Thursday with highs in the 60s. But sunnier skies in western Minnesota will help boost temperatures toward 70 degrees.

Friday looks like one of the best weather days of the year in Minnesota. Sunny skies, low humidity, and temperatures running well into the 70s will feel spectacular.

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday.
NOAA

Highs by Saturday push 80 degrees in the south.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday
Forecast high temperatures Saturday.
NOAA

A warm front blows a steamy summery air mass northward for Memorial Day. Highs in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees now look likely in southern Minnesota Monday!

Forecast high temperatures Monday
Forecast high temperatures Memorial Day.
NOAA

Dew points could approach the tropical 70-degree mark.

We’ll likely see a couple of passing thunderstorms tracking from west to east across Minnesota this weekend. Saturday night looks like a favored timing for one wave.

But it won’t rain all weekend, and I think we’ll see way more sunshine than rain.

Overall it looks like an above-average Memorial Day weekend is on the way.

We’ve earned it.