Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Weekend weather: Summery temps, chance of scattered thunderstorms

Saturday will be the warmest day of the weekend

Many parts of Minnesota are very dry right now. The new U.S. Drought Monitor report shows severe drought in the orange stripe from northeastern Stearns County to far southwestern Pine County:

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Drought monitor
U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Moderate drought covers the beige-shaded areas in Minnesota. The yellow-shaded areas are abnormally dry, but not yet in drought.

We have the potential for patchy showers and thunderstorms this weekend, but many spots won’t see any meaningful rain.

Weekend rain chances

Computer models show patchy areas of showers and thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. The rain isn’t expected to last for a long time over any one spot, but some areas could see some welcome rain.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday:

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Simulated radar from 4 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Saturday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Pay more attention to the patchy nature of the rain than the exact location of the rain at any point in time.

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

Weekend temps and dew points

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 80 degrees on June 17. Metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 80s this Saturday.

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the 80s, with 70s in northeastern Minnesota:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Saturday will feature summery dew points, in the 50s in most areas but in the stickier 60s in southwestern Minnesota:

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Saturday 1 p.m. forecast dew points
National Weather Service

Sunday highs temps reach the 80s in most areas, with 70s in parts of northern Minnesota:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday afternoon dew points will remain in the 50s and lower 60s:

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Sunday 1 p.m. forecast dew points
National Weather Service

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.