Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Spring has finally sprung on the weather maps.

We reached 70 degrees in the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota Wednesday for the first time in almost three weeks. 

We’ll do it again Thursday with another day of 70s across most of Minnesota. It’ll be cooler by Lake Superior, as is usual in the spring.

April finished 1.3 degrees colder than average in the Twin Cities. March was a blustery 4.3 degrees colder than average. 

The last significantly warmer-than-average month was January, which ran 4 degrees above average in the Twin Cities. And, well, that was January.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration produces medium-range temperature outlooks based on forecast model trends over the next few weeks. The forecast models we use on a daily basis are better with large-scale temperature trends in the one to three-week range than with precipitation patterns. That’s why we tend to put a little more confidence in the temperature outlooks. 

NOAA’s six to 10-day outlook favors warmer than average temperatures across most of the United States next week, including Minnesota.

The eight to 14-day outlook also shows a warm bias for our region.

Still-experimental outlooks also favor warmer-than-average temperatures in the Upper Midwest for the last two weeks of May. 

If the current outlooks for May verify, we may be able to get outdoors and enjoy some fine warmer-than-average spring weather this month.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

January was the last much warmer-than-average month in Minnesota. 

Outlooks favor a warmer-than-average May for Minnesota

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