Mild temps for much of the coming week; Update on rain chances

In case you didn’t catch the earlier post, here’s a recap of the the tornadoes that touched down in parts of western Minnesota late Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening.

Based on reports that came into the National Weather Service offices, the NWS Storm Prediction Center lists four confirmed tornadoes in Minnesota on Saturday:

Times listed are in Universal time, which is 5 hours ahead of central daylight time. 2242 is 5:42 p.m. Saturday, 2323 is 6:23 p.m. Saturday.

Note that all this activity occurred on Saturday. No injuries or fatalities were reported from Saturday’s tornadoes in western Minnesota.

Dense fog in parts of northeastern Minnesota

Fog lingers today, tonight and into early Monday in portions of northeastern Minnesota. A dense fog advisory continues in some areas, including Duluth, until 10 a.m. Monday:

Here are details of the advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 830 AM CDT Sun May 7 2023 MNZ020-037-080130- /O.EXT.KDLH.FG.Y.0005.000000T0000Z-230508T1500Z/ Southern Lake-Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Duluth 830 AM CDT Sun May 7 2023 ...DENSE FOG ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog. * WHERE...Southern Lak, South St. Louis, and Carlton Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band. * WHEN...Until 10 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Hazardous driving conditions due to low visibility. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Rain outlook for Sunday and Monday

Here’s a look at rain chances:

• The northern third or so of Minnesota will have the best chance of showers Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening, with an isolated thunderstorm also possible.

• Far southern Minnesota could see a few scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm Sunday afternoon.

• Scattered showers and a few thunderstorms are possible anywhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night.

• On Monday, the best chance of showers and a few thunderstorms will be in northern and eastern Minnesota and into Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 6 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Monday:

NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh model shows the following rain pattern for that same time period:

You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network.

You can also check the following NWS sites for updated weather info: Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Sioux Falls, and Grand Forks.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 66 degrees on May 7. Sunday highs are expected to reach the mid 70s in much of the Twin Cities metro area.

Most of southern and central Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Sunday highs in the 70s, with a mix of 60s and 50s across the northern third of Minnesota. Some spots along the North Shore of Lake Superior could see upper 40s.

Monday highs will be in the 60s in many locations, with 70s in southwestern and south-central Minnesota:

Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area will touch 70 on Monday.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 70s on Tuesday, followed by upper 70s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

No chilly temps are in sight. The NWS Climate Prediction Center show a strong tendency for above-normal temps from May 12 through May 16:

Weather nugget

The Twin Cities high temp was 90 degrees or warmer on six consecutive days in May of 2018. The hottest day in that stretch was 100 degrees on May 28, which was Memorial Day.

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.