Showers/t-storms at times this holiday weekend, but many dry hours too
Warmest day will be Monday
Areas of showers will continue in central and southern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin this Saturday morning and into the first part of the afternoon. A few embedded thunderstorms are also possible.
An isolated shower and thunderstorm chance will linger in Minnesota and western Wisconsin for the late afternoon and evening hours.
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.
Rain chances Sunday and Monday?
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Forecast models show the possibility of scattered showers and thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday evening. There will be a better chance for some periods of rain in Minnesota and western Wisconsin overnight Sunday night and also on Monday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 10 p.m. on Sunday to 10 p.m. Monday:
Check forecast updates.
Temperature trends
There will be a lot of highs in the 70s Saturday afternoon, with a few spots topping 80. There may be some 60s up along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Sunday highs will reach the 80s in many areas, with mainly 70s in north-central and northeastern Minnesota:
There could be a few upper 60s up along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Sunday afternoon dew points will be in the sticky 60s in much of central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
It will be a warm Fourth of July in most areas. Monday highs will be in the 80s in central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
Monday afternoon dew points will be in the steamy 70s in central and southern Minnesota:
Rest of the week
Twin Cities high temperatures are projected to reach the lower 80s on Tuesday, followed by mid 80s Wednesday then upper 80s Thursday and Friday.
Warm and dry June in most of Minnesota
Most of Minnesota had warmer than normal temps and lower than normal rainfall in June. The average June temp (which is the average of all the daily high temps and low temps) at MSP airport was 3.3 degrees warmer than normal. June rainfall at MSP airport was more than 3 inches below normal.
The Minnesota State Climatology Office posted a summary of June weather in Minnesota. Here’s an excerpt from their report:
About 75% of the state had below normal precipitation during June. The Twin Cities finished with 1.13 inches of rain for the month, which is only 25% of what would normally fall, and the fifth- lowest June total out of 152 years with precipitation records. Many stations in western, central, and southern Minnesota received under an inch of rain for the month, and had less than 20% of normal precipitation. On a statewide averaged basis, a typical station was 30-40% below normal.
Scattered areas of central and northern Minnesota were wetter than normal, thanks to repeat visits from heavy thunderstorms. The most notable precipitation surplus was from northwest of Little Falls into the Brainerd area. This area was hit particularly hard by evening and overnight storms on June 23-24. Other, often separate wet areas could be found southward towards St. Cloud, northeastward towards Aitkin, in central Otter Tail County, to the northwest of Red Lake, in a stripe extending from Leech Lake to Silver Bay, and also in extreme southeastern Minnesota.
We’ll see what July brings us.
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.