Warm and warmer; southerly breezes ramp up our weekend temps

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 37 degrees this time of year. The metro area will top out in the 50s this Saturday afternoon, and we’ll reach the 60s Sunday afternoon.

Most of the southern third of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin will reach the 50s Saturday afternoon, with mainly 40s in northern Minnesota. A few spots in far northwestern Minnesota may top out in the upper 30s. It’ll be a breezy day.

Sunday highs reach the 60s in about the southern third of Minnesota, with 50s and 40s to the north:

Parts of the far northwest will top out in the 30s.

Sunday will be breezy across roughly the southern third of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin, with gusts over 20 mph at times:

Forecasts are in knots; 20 knots equals 23 mph.

Temperatures retreat on Monday, then rebound as we go through the rest of the coming week. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 40s Monday, followed by mid 40s Tuesday, upper 40s Wednesday and lower 50s Thursday and Friday.

Sunday precipitation chances far north

Far northern Minnesota may see some sprinkles at times on Sunday and Sunday evening. Areas of freezing drizzle and a few flakes are also possible.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern for Sunday and Sunday evening:

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

Cross-country skiers, sledders, snowboarders and snowmobilers will find the deepest snow cover this weekend over northern parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Here’s the latest snow depth analysis from NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. (NOHRSC):

Much of north-central and northeastern Minnesota has more than 16 inches of snow on the ground, and some spots in the northeast show more than 30 inches. The snow cover will shrink a bit this weekend, due to our warming trend. Snow cover is more variable in southern Minnesota, ranging from zero in some areas to several inches in other areas.

The NWS lists the Twin Cities snow depth as just a trace of snow Saturday 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 remain on some north-facing slopes and shaded areas.

Switch to daylight saving time

Our smartphones and laptops typically do this for us, but if you have clocks that need to be set manually this is the night to do it.

I’m talking about the switch to daylight saving time that’ll occur at 2 a.m. this Sunday. Setting clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed tonight will keep you from being late to any Sunday activities:

Some people still refer to this as a switch-over to daylight savings time, but the correct term is daylight saving time. More info on that can be found at timeanddate.com.

With severe weather season approaching, this is a good time to change the battery on your NOAA weather radio. NOAA weather radios can be set to notify you if a severe weather warning is issued for your area. That’s especially helpful if severe weather hits your area while you’re sleeping and not monitoring the weather via MPR or other media.

Of course it’s always a good idea to check and/or replace batteries on smoke detectors and CO (carbon monoxide) detectors at least once a year, before they run down.

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.