June-like warmth Saturday; red flag warning for portions of southern Minnesota

It’ll feel more like June than April 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 have Saturday highs in the 60s, with 50s in parts of the northeast and a few 40s in portions of Lake and Cook County.

Winds and a red flag warning

Saturday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 20 to 30 mph range across much of southern and eastern Minnesota.

Some spots in the southwest will have gusts to 35 mph at times.

Gusty winds plus low relative humidity levels could lead to the rapid spread of any fires that develop Saturday afternoon, especially in southwestern and south-central Minnesota. A red flag warning is posted for those areas from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Here are details of one portion of the red flag warning:

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 154 AM CDT Sat Apr 13 2024 ...ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA SATURDAY AFTERNOON... .Southerly winds 15 to 20mph with gusts of 25 to 30 mph 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. Afternoon humidity will fall into the 20s at most locations within the Red Flag Warning, and a few spots could reach the upper teens across southwest Minnesota. MNZ064-073-074-082-083-091>093-131500- /O.UPG.KMPX.FW.A.0004.240413T1700Z-240414T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.FW.W.0005.240413T1700Z-240414T0000Z/ Yellow Medicine-Redwood-Brown-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Martin- Faribault-Freeborn- 154 AM CDT Sat Apr 13 2024 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR BREEZY AND DRY CONDITIONS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 064, 073, 074, 082, 083, 091, 092, AND 093... The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is in effect from noon today to 7 PM CDT this evening. The Fire Weather Watch is no longer in effect. * AFFECTED AREA...Southwest and portions of south-central Minnesota. * WIND...South from 15 to 20 mph, gusting 25 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 Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

Winds will taper off Saturday night.

Rain chance northern Minnesota

Portions of far northern Minnesota saw scattered showers Saturday morning. The chance of scattered showers continues in far northern Minnesota Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening, with the shower chance also spreading into far northwestern Wisconsin.

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

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

Warm Sunday

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

There will be some 50s in far northeastern Minnesota.

Update

A new Updraft will be posted around 10:40 a.m. today. It’ll include a look at the week ahead.

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.