70s in many areas this weekend; soaking rains Tuesday

It’ll feel more like June than April Saturday afternoon. You’ll also need the sunscreen.

Temperature trends

Low temps early Saturday morning will be in the 30s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Some spots in northeastern Minnesota will dip into the 20s.

Increasing southerly winds will usher in much warmer air Saturday afternoon. The average Twin Cities high temperature is 56 degrees on April 13. Saturday highs are expected to reach the upper 70s in the metro area. Upper 70s are average Twin Cities high temperatures in early June.

Saturday highs will be in the 70s in much of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin:

Southwestern Minnesota will see some 80s. Parts of far northern Minnesota will see highs in the 60s, with 50s in the northeast and a few 40s in a portion of Cook County.

Saturday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 20 to 30 mph range across central and southern Minnesota:

Gusty winds plus low relative humidity levels Saturday afternoon could lead to the rapid spread of any fires that develop, especially in southwestern and south-central Minnesota. A fire weather watch has been posted for those areas Saturday afternoon into early Saturday evening:

Here are details of the fire weather watch:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 303 PM CDT Fri Apr 12 2024 ...ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA SATURDAY AFTERNOON... .Southerly winds 15 to 25mph will combine with warm temperatures in the 70s and 80s to cause elevated fire weather conditions across portions of southwest and south-central Minnesota Saturday afternoon. MNZ064-073-074-082-083-091>093-131100- /O.NEW.KMPX.FW.A.0004.240413T1700Z-240414T0000Z/ Yellow Medicine-Redwood-Brown-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Martin- Faribault-Freeborn- 303 PM CDT Fri Apr 12 2024 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA... The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued a Fire Weather Watch, which is in effect from Saturday afternoon through Saturday evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Southwest and portions of south-central Minnesota. * WIND...South from 15 to 25 mph, gusting to 30 mph. * HUMIDITY... 20 to 30 percent. * IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.

Winds will taper off Saturday night.

Sunday high temps will reach the 70s in roughly the southern half of Minnesota, with 60s to the north:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid 70s on Monday, followed by mid 60s Tuesday then upper 50s Wednesday and upper 40s Thursday and Friday.

Rain chance north on Saturday

Scattered showers are possible Saturday morning in portions of northwestern and north-central Minnesota closest to the Canadian border. Far northern Minnesota could see occasional scattered showers Saturday afternoon and evening, with the shower chance also spreading into parts of northwestern Wisconsin Saturday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 11 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Saturday:

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Tuesday soaker

A low pressure system will bring periods of rain and some embedded thunderstorms to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa Tuesday and Tuesday night. The rain could linger into Wednesday morning in some areas. Early estimates are that many locations will see between 1.50 inches to 2.50 inches of rain over that time span.

Check forecast updates.

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.