Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Our rapid warmup begins Friday with highs reaching 50 in southern Minnesota to the 30s north. A few showers are possible Friday night and Sunday as temperatures warm to the 50s and 60s; 70s to near 80 degrees are possible by midweek next week in southern Minnesota.

Look for warmer temperatures Friday, finally closer to normal, with highs in the low 50s across southern Minnesota and 30s in northern Minnesota. Expect sunshine across most of the state most of the day.

The first of two weak systems brings a few showers to mainly eastern Minnesota Friday night.

We’re back into sunshine Saturday with even warmer temperatures. Highs will range from the low 60s south to 40s north.

The next disturbance brings a few showers Sunday midday into the afternoon and a temporary increase in cloud cover. Again, this system will bring little in the way of measurable precipitation, luckily.

An anomalous upper-level ridge develops and sits in place across the central United States allowing for even warmer air to develop.

The temperatures continue to trend rapidly upward with highs in the 70s by Tuesday with 50s and 60s even in northern Minnesota.

We are going from one extreme to the next. Thursday’s temperatures were 10 to 25 degrees colder than normal and we will be swinging to temperatures that will be nearly 25 degrees above normal midweek.

That rapid warmup will lead to rapid melting of an unusually high snow pack with extremely high amounts of moisture within it. River levels in southern Minnesota, including for the Mississippi and St. Croix, will likely peak in the next week or two.

The St. Croix River at Stillwater is expecting major flooding. It will be rising more than 4 feet over the next seven days, approaching flood stage later next week.

On the Red River near Fargo, N.D., major flooding is also expected by next week into the following week. The Red River there will rise nearly 16 feet from its current levels.

Luckily we won’t see major, widespread precipitation into next week but the big shift to warmer temperatures will release a lot of stored water causing river levels to go up quickly.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Sven Sundgaard

Author

Our rapid warmup begins Friday with highs reaching 50 in southern Minnesota to the 30s north. A few showers are possible Friday night and Sunday as temperatures warm to the 50s and 60s; 70s to near 80 degrees are possible by midweek next week in southern Minnesota.


Rapid warming starts Friday; rivers rising toward flood stage

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