Periods of rain Sunday into Monday; cloud forecast for Monday's solar eclipse
Warmer temps midweek into next weekend
Rain will interfere with some of our outdoor plans today, but the rain will help reduce rainfall deficits in many parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
A strong low pressure system centered over northern Nebraska Sunday morning is delivering rain to much of central and southern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin and Iowa. The low pressure system will move slowly east-northeastward Sunday afternoon and Sunday night, spinning additional bands of rain across much of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Sunday wind gusts will be in the 30 mph to 45 mph range in much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
Parts of Iowa will see some thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday evening, and a few scattered thunderstorms are also possible in the southern half of Minnesota plus parts of Wisconsin.
Periods of rain are expected Monday in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with the rain becoming more scattered in southern Minnesota by Monday afternoon.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Monday:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. You can check radar here.
Solar eclipse weather
Cloudy to mostly cloudy skies are expected over Minnesota and western Wisconsin during the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon. Here’s the timing of Monday’s partial solar eclipse over the Twin Cities:
NOAA’s simulated cloud cover for noon to 3 p.m. Monday looks like this:
Based on a blend of several cloud cover forecasts for Monday afternoon, the total solar eclipse could be viewable from northern Arkansas into southeastern Missouri and far southern Illinois plus Indiana, northwestern Ohio and northern portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine:
Note that the cloudiest areas in the forecast graphic above are depicted as shades of blue.
Temperature trends
The average Twin Cities high temperature is 53 degrees on April 7. Many locations in Minnesota saw their Sunday high temperature before sunrise. The Twin Cities high temp for today will probably be the 47-degree reading at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Sunday afternoon temperatures will be in the 40s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with some 50s in far northwestern Minnesota and parts of north-central Minnesota.
Monday highs will be in the 50s in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area, with 40s in central and northern Minnesota:
Tuesday high temps will be mainly in the 50s, with some 40s in northeastern Minnesota:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid 60s Wednesday, then around 60 degrees on Thursday and Friday. The metro area will 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:
Weather nugget
April was the snowiest month of the 2017-2018 snow season in the Twin Cities, with 26.1 inches of snow.
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.