Weekend forecast: warming trend; Sunday highs in the 60s southern Minnesota
A mostly dry weekend; far north may see a Sunday sprinkle
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The newest computer model info is in, and it continues to show very warm (for March) temperatures across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
Our average Twin Cities high temp for March 7 and March 8 is only 37 degrees. We’ll see Twin Cities highs in the 50s on Saturday, followed by 60s on Sunday.
Roughly the southern third of Minnesota will have Saturday highs in the 50s, with mostly 40s elsewhere:
Winds will be a bit gusty by Saturday afternoon:
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Forecasts are in knots, 20 knots equals 23 mph.
Sunday highs range from 60s in about the southern third of Minnesota to 30s in the far northwest:
Sunday sprinkles or wintry mix far north
Some sprinkles are possible over parts of far northern Minnesota on Sunday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern for Sunday:
A wintry mix is possible at times in northwestern Minnesota, and that mix could spread eastward by Sunday evening. Any precipitation in northeastern Minnesota appears to hold off until Sunday afternoon.
You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Snow depths
If you have snow-related outdoor plans this weekend, you’ll be happy to know that there’s still plenty of snow on the ground across the northern half of Minnesota. Here’s the latest snow depth map, courtesy of the Minnesota State Climatology Office and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
Snow cover is lower across the southern half of Minnesota.
Much of north-central and northeastern Minnesota report 18 inches or more of snow cover, with more than 30 inches of snow on the ground in portions of Lake and Cook counties. Parts of southern Minnesota have 4 inches or more of snow cover, but zero to two inches of snow cover are shown in parts of the far south.
The NWS lists the Twin Cities snow depth as just a trace of snow Friday morning. I’ve noticed that many south-facing lawns in the metro area have little or no snow cover, while a few inches of snow cover remains on some north-facing slopes. In central Minnesota, St. Cloud reports a snow depth of 4 inches.
Satellite images show the minimal or spotty snow cover in the Twin Cities metro area and much of southwestern Minnesota:
Our Minnesota snow cover will continue to shrink this weekend, due to the warming trend.
Weekend events
If you’re looking for weekend activity options, Explore Minnesota has a list of many events and festivals around the state. One event this Saturday is Dog Days of Winter, which takes place halfway up the Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais:
Dog days of Winter is a dog sledding theme event hosted by Trail Center Lodge on the Gunflint Trail. The event includes a snowman competition, skijoring races and dog sled derbies.
It’ll be breezy in and near Grand Marais on Saturday, with sun and patchy clouds. Morning temps will be mainly in the 20s, then temps warm through the 30s Saturday afternoon.
I hope that you have a great weekend!
