Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Rain tapers Thursday; sun mercifully returns Friday

Drier and milder weather ahead next week.

Wet October leaves in Victoria
Wet October leaves in Victoria
Paul Huttner | MPR News

Minnesota’s weather often reads like a headline in The Onion.

“Weather to improve next week.”

We partly celebrate and partly slog through seemingly endless winters. We scurry through fleeting summers. We smile through cold October rain.

Minnesota’s weather usually overpromises and underdelivers. No wonder we’re described as stoic.

Our latest bout of endless rain lingers overnight. A few wet snowflakes may mix in across northern Minnesota. Clouds linger most of Thursday. The sun mercifully returns Friday.

Overnight rain

Occasional rain lingers into early Thursday morning in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota. Precipitation lingers much of Thursday in northern Minnesota.

The Canadian GEM model paints the rain shield moving across Minnesota through Thursday, and the (welcome) high-pressure cell moves in Friday.

Canadian model into Friday
Canadian model into Friday
Environment Canada, via tropical tidbits

A few flakes north?

Most of the reliable models in this situation favor mostly rain across most of northern Minnesota overnight. But the temperature profile in the lowest mile of the atmosphere suggests some wet snowflakes may mix in from International Falls through Ely and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area overnight.

The usually trusty Europan model favors mostly rain in Ely overnight.

European model forecast for Ely
European model forecast for Ely
Norwegian Met Institute

A slushy, quickly melting, coating of snow in the BWCA is possible overnight.

Milder next week

Our weather improves by Monday. Abundant sunshine and southerly winds boost temperatures well into the 60s. The numbers below could be conservative by next Tuesday.

The Twin Cities could reach 65 to 70 degrees Tuesday afternoon.

Temperature forecast for Twin Cities
Temperature forecast for Twin Cities
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Weather Bell

Play ball!