Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Mild Sunday temps; a few flakes are possible in far northern Minnesota

How long will the mild temps linger?

Saturday was the final day of meteorological winter. Many meteorologists and climatologists label the three coldest months (December, January and February) as “winter”. The three warmest months (in the northern hemisphere) are June through August, which are labeled “summer”. Spring and autumn fill the gaps in between the winter and summer seasons.

We finished meteorological winter on a mild note. We’ll start meteorological spring with Sunday highs in the 40s across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Our average March 1 high temp is 34 degrees in the Twin Cities, so a high in the mid-40s is quite a bit warmer than average. Most of west-central and northwestern Minnesota can expect Sunday highs in the 30s.

Sunday afternoon wind chills will be mainly in the 30s, with 20s to the northwest:

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Sunday 1 p.m. forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Monday will be the coolest day of the coming week. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 30s Monday, followed by highs in the lower 40s Tuesday, mid 40s Wednesday and Thursday and lower 40s on Friday.

Next weekend and beyond

Next weekend looks warmer than normal, and forecast models show a shot at 50 degrees in the Twin Cities. The temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency toward warmer than normal temperatures next weekend and the following week for much of Minnesota and Wisconsin:

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Temperature outlook March 8 through March 14
NWS Climate Prediction Center

Check for updates.

Flake/sprinkle chance far north on Sunday

I’ll first mention that areas of fog are possible in Minnesota and western Wisconsin late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. West-central Minnesota and parts of central Minnesota could see areas of dense fog/freezing fog.

Far northern Minnesota has a chance of flurries or a bit of drizzle Sunday morning. The far north could also see areas of light snow showers, flurries and sprinkles Sunday afternoon and evening. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Sunday afternoon and evening:

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Simulated radar Sunday afternoon and evening
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.