Warm weekend; shower-thunderstorm chance late Sunday

A developing low-pressure system to the west will funnel warm air into much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin today and Sunday.

Temperature trends this weekend and beyond

Saturday highs will be in the lower 80s in parts of southwestern and south-central Minnesota. Elsewhere in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota, we’ll see a lot of 70s that will extend into western Wisconsin. The northern third of Minnesota will have highs mainly in the 60s, with a few upper 50s near the Canadian border.

Twin Cities metro area highs will be mainly in the upper 70s Saturday afternoon, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an isolated 80. Our average Oct. 22 high is just 55 degrees in the Twin Cities.

Sunday high temps will be in the 70s in many locations, with 60s in the far north:

A few spots in southern Minnesota could touch 80 degrees on Sunday afternoon.

A low-pressure system will move from Nebraska through the eastern parts of North and South Dakota on Sunday. That weather pattern will bring strong winds to Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with afternoon gusts of 25 to 35 mph in many areas:

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

Dew points will rise into the 50s on Sunday, and will probably reach the upper 50s in some areas Sunday afternoon:

That’ll feel almost summery!

Back to temperatures, Twin Cities metro area highs may be in the upper 60s early Monday morning, followed by falling temps through the day. We could be in the upper 50s by late Monday afternoon. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the lower 50s Tuesday through Thursday, followed by mid 50s on Friday.

Rain, thunderstorms possible late Sunday

As a cold front approaches from the west, there could be scattered showers and thunderstorms in parts of western Minnesota late Sunday afternoon. Areas of rain with some embedded thunderstorms will be possible anywhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night.

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a slight risk of severe weather in southwestern Minnesota late Sunday and Sunday night, with a marginal risk (shaded dark green) elsewhere in Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin:

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible, while marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible.

We have updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.

Fall color report

Some trees have dropped most of their leaves, but there are still pockets of good fall color in portions of southern and central Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color report for Minnesota State Parks and Trails looks like this:

The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.

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. Saturday and Sunday.