Record warmth for Saturday; afternoon shower chance far northern Minnesota

Our Saturday temps will be well above normal and some records will fall.

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 35 degrees on March 2. Metro area highs are expected to reach the 60s this Saturday. The Twin Cities record high for March 2 is 54 degrees.

Saturday afternoon highs will range from 30s in northwestern Minnesota to 60s in much of the southern half of Minnesota plus west-central Wisconsin:

Here are a few of the the existing March 2 record highs that are expected to be broken today:

Twin Cities: 54 (1923)

St. Cloud: 53 (1934)

Rochester: 58 (1964)

Eau Claire, Wisc.: 58 (1923)

Breezy by afternoon

South-southeasterly breezes are expected to increase a bit by Saturday afternoon. Wind gusts over 20 mph are expected in southern Minnesota and in parts of northwestern Minnesota this afternoon:

Shower chance far north

Portions of far northern Minnesota could see some periods of rain showers and snow showers Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High Resolution Rapid-Refresh forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Saturday to 9 p.m. Saturday:

Snow depths

Most of Minnesota has little or no snow on the ground right now. There’s some decent snow snow cover in portions of northern Minnesota.

Here’s the latest Minnesota snow depth map, from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

The areas that are shaded yellow have snow depths of 2 to 4 inches, with 4 to 8 inches of snow cover in the areas that are shaded green.

Update

A new Updraft will be posted around 10:40 a.m. today. It will feature a look at Sunday and the week ahead.

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.