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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Ron Trenda

Very nice Friday and Saturday; chance of rain on Sunday

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A meteorologist colleague of mine used to say "high pressure is your fair weather friend."

Fortunately, a nearby high-pressure system will bring pleasant weather to Minnesota this Friday and most of Saturday.

Rain chances

An isolated shower could pop up late Friday afternoon in Minnesota or western Wisconsin, but the chance is very small at any one spot.

Southwestern Minnesota could see some scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm late Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.

There's a better chance of showers and a few thunderstorms on Sunday, mainly over about the southern two-thirds of Minnesota.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern this weekend:

rt0811rad
NOAA GFS model precipitation rate Saturday through Sunday evening, via tropicaltidbits

Temperature trends

Most of Minnesota will see Friday afternoon highs in the 70s.

Similar highs are expected on Saturday:

rt0812h3

A few spots in central and southeastern Minnesota could touch 80 degrees Saturday afternoon.

High in the 70s will be common on Sunday:

rt0813h2

Our average high temp is now 81 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area, and we could see some lower 80s early next week.

There aren't any really warm temps in sight next week, but the GFS model shows Twin Cities highs in the upper 80s to around 90 from August 21 through August 23:

rt0811ext2
GFS temperature forecast for the Twin Cities, via MeteoStar

The times listed above are in Coordinated Universal Time, which is 5 hours ahead of CDT.

So, the 88 degree max temp listed for 06Z on Tuesday Aug. 22 is the 12 hour max temp through 1 a.m. CDT Tuesday. It is the Monday afternoon max temp.

Don't worry, there won't be a quiz on Coordinated Universal Time!

Dust devil

Even when skies are mostly sunny, dust devils can form.

This dust devil occurred in France:

Here is the definition of dust devil, from NOAA's NWS glossary:

A small, rapidly rotating wind that is made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up. Also called a whirlwind, it develops best on clear, dry, hot afternoons.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.