Gusty winds and periods of rain Sunday; cloud forecast for Monday's eclipse
Warmer temps return by midweek
It was a windy Saturday, and gusty winds remain in the forecast for Sunday.
The highest wind gust recorded Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 40 mph. Higher gusts, in the 45 to 49 mph range, were measured in parts of west-central and southwestern Minnesota. A wind advisory continues until 1 a.m. Sunday in southwestern and west-central Minnesota.
Sunday wind and rain
Many locations in Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Sunday wind gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range, as a low pressure system advances toward Minnesota.
Rain is expected to begin in southern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin late Saturday night, then spread northward. Much of Minnesota and Wisconsin will have periods of rain on Sunday. The rain could be mixed with snow in portions of central Minnesota Sunday morning.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday:
A thunderstorm is also possible in southern Minnesota Sunday afternoon and evening.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network.
Temperature trends
The Saturday high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 59 degrees. That’s well above the average April 6 Twin Cities high of 52 degrees.
Sunday high temps will be in the 40s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
Parts of northwestern and north-central Minnesota will reach the 50s.
Monday highs will be in the 50s in southern Minnesota, with 40s in central and northern Minnesota:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid 50s Tuesday, followed by mid 60s Wednesday then around 60 degrees on Thursday and Friday. We’ll have a shot at upper 60s to around 70 next weekend.
Above-normal temperatures could linger beyond next weekend, into the beginning of the following week. Here’s the April 12 through April 18 temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center:
Solar eclipse weather
Periods of rain are expected in Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Monday. NOAA’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 7 a.m. Monday to 9 p.m. Monday:
Cloudy to mostly cloudy skies are expected across most of Minnesota Monday afternoon, during the partial solar eclipse. Here’s the timing of Monday’s partial eclipse over the Twin Cities:
Based on the cloud cover forecast for Monday afternoon, the total solar eclipse could be viewable from northern Arkansas into southeastern Missouri and far southern Illinois plus Indiana and northern portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine:
The cloudiest areas in the forecast graphic above are depicted as shades of blue.
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.