Cooler but still well above normal this week

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It’s breezy today, but those howling winds of Saturday have shifted off to the eastern portion of the Great Lakes.

Sunday afternoon winds are expected to be in the 18 to 25 mph range across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph possible.

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 42 degrees this time of year. Metro area highs are expected to reach the lower 30s late Sunday afternoon. Much of the southern half of Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 30s, with 20s to the north.

The gusty winds will make it feel colder than the air temperature, so a hat and gloves are appropriate today. 

Monday highs will be mainly in the 30s, with some lower 40s in far western Minnesota:

Tuesday will be the warmest day of the workweek, with highs in the lower 50s across far southern Minnesota and a lot of 40s elsewhere:

Far northern Minnesota will see Tuesday highs in the 30s.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 40s on Tuesday, followed by mid 30s Wednesday then lower 30s Thursday and mid 30s on Friday. That’s quite a change from this past week, when the Twin Cities had three days with highs in the 60s.

Minnesota and western Wisconsin have seen patchy light snow showers and flurries Sunday morning. A few spots could also see a few scattered light snow showers or flurries Sunday afternoon.

Iron County of far northern Wisconsin plus portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could receive several inches of lake-effect snow Sunday through Monday morning:

Monday and Tuesday look fairly dry in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Forecast models indicate that periods of snow are possible Thursday and Thursday evening in Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin. Timing and snow amounts will come into focus as we get closer to Thursday.

Forecast models hint at the potential for accumulating snow next weekend, but the storm track and precipitation type (snow or rain) vary quite a bit from model to model. We’ll be watching this evolve as we get closer to the weekend.

Here’s a portion of the Saturday peak wind gust summary that was posted by the National Weather Service:

Rochester and Windom also reported 46 mph wind gusts on Saturday. Baudette recorded a wind gust of 44 mph.

The warmest St. Patrick’s Day in Twin Cities weather records occurred in 2012, with a high of 80 degrees. That set a new record for the earliest in the year that the official Twin Cities temp has reached 80 degrees.

March 16 through March 19 was a very warm stretch in 2012, with highs of 79 degrees on three days and the 80 degree high on March 17:

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.  

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

Temps will be cool today and Monday, then tick upward for one day on Tuesday. We look at the week ahead, including when we could see some snow.

Breezy and cool Sunday; lighter winds on Monday

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