Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Balmy Wednesday transitions to colder showers Thursday

A couple of chilly days before another weekend warmup

Temperatures
Temperatures Wednesday afternoon
Oklahoma Mesonet

Did you get outside Wednesday?

Temperatures felt more May than March across most of Minnesota Wednesday. We rode the upper end of that record-heat dome that’s been cooking the West with record summerlike heat the past several days.

Our 72-degree temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport so far Wednesday is an astounding 26 degrees warmer than the normal high of 46 degrees for March 25.

Thursday cold front

Our spring fling is a one-day event this time, though. Notice those shades of blue in the far north on the map above? That’s the colder air that will pour south into Minnesota Thursday and Friday.

The cold front brings a band of rain showers with a few possible snowflakes in the north overnight into Thursday. We could see a few rain showers dip as far south as the Twin Cities early Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NAM 3 km model shows the trend between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday:

NOAA NAM 3 km model
North American Mesoscale 3 km model between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Highs Thursday will be noticeably colder than Wednesday’s warmth. Jackets are back.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

Friday will be the coldest day for the next week — and maybe for the rest of spring. Highs in the 30s to low 40s south will remind us it’s still March for a few more days.

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday
NOAA

The weekend looks sunny and milder once again. Highs in the 40s north and 50s south Saturday will warm into the 60s south by Sunday.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday
NOAA