Spring's green wave may reach southern Minnesota this weekend
60s return across western, southern Minnesota by Friday
Our cloudy Monday may have robbed Minnesota of the solar eclipse, but the green wave is coming.
The green wave is what phenologists call the advance of the spring leaf-out. The trees and shrubs are shooting out a fresh canopy of green to our south in Iowa. The leading edge of the green leaf-out is likely to arrive in southern Minnesota by this weekend and spread north through next week.
You can see an animation of the green wave through today from the National Phenology Network at the top of this post. Here’s how the green wave is progressing so far this spring:
April 1, 2024
After a slow start to spring in the southern part of the U.S., spring is spreading more quickly now across the central part of the country. Billings, MT is 6 days early, Kalamazoo, MI is 15 days early, and Providence, RI is 4 days early compared to a long-term average of 1991-2020.
Warmer days ahead
The green wave is likely to accelerate north into Minnesota this week. That’s because temperatures will rise dramatically as we move toward the upcoming weekend.
By Friday, highs in the 60s will return to much of western and southern Minnesota.
The weekend looks even warmer. Widespread highs in the 70s will arrive both Saturday and Sunday, with 60s to the Canadian border. Note the 80s not far away in northern Iowa. Preview of coming attractions.
Get ready for spring, Minnesota.
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