Sunday sunshine; shower chance returns by late Monday
Red flag warning for parts of Wisconsin
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Our Saturday high temp was 75 degrees at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Twin Cities metro area highs will be cooler today, but our wind gusts won’t be a strong as they were yesterday.
Temperature trends
This will be a nice early-May day across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Far northern Minnesota will see the most cloud cover, with plenty of sunshine elsewhere.
Highs in the 60s are expected in many areas Sunday afternoon, but some 50s are on tap for much of the northern half of Minnesota and there could be a few upper 40s near the Canadian border. A few spots in far southern Minnesota could top 70. Twin Cities metro area highs will tend to be in the upper 60s Sunday afternoon. Our average Twin Cities high is 66 degrees this time of year.
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Monday highs will be mainly in the 50s to lower 60s in Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
Some upper 40s are expected along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 60 Monday and Tuesday, followed by lower 60s on Wednesday, mid 60s Thursday, and mid 50s on Friday.
Wildfire risk update
Gusty winds and low relative humidity levels have prompted a Red Flag warning from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Sunday in parts of western and central Wisconsin (shaded red):
Details of the warning:
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service La Crosse WI 427 AM CDT Sun May 3 2020 ...Critical Fire Weather Conditions Expected Today in Parts of Central and Western Wisconsin... .The combination of low relative humidities and gusty winds will lead to critical fire weather conditions this afternoon. Wind gusts will be from 25 to 40 mph and humidities could be as low as 20 percent. Fire behavior could be extreme in these conditions. Burning should be avoided. WIZ033-031900- /O.NEW.KARX.FW.W.0001.200503T1600Z-200504T0000Z/ Trempealeau- 427 AM CDT Sun May 3 2020 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN WISCONSIN... The National Weather Service in La Crosse has issued a Red Flag Warning, which is in effect from 11 AM this morning to 7 PM CDT this evening. * AFFECTED AREA...IN Wisconsin...Trempealeau. * TIMING...11 AM until 7 PM Today. * WIND...Northwest increasing to 15 to 20, gusting as high as 35 mph this afternoon. * HUMIDITY...As low as 20 to 25 percent. * TEMPERATURES...65 to 70. * IMPACTS...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now....or will shortly. A combination of strong winds...low relative humidity...and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
A NWS special weather statement describes the elevated wildfire risk today in southeastern Minnesota:
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service La Crosse WI 437 AM CDT Sun May 3 2020 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032- 053>055-061-040000- Mitchell-Howard-Winneshiek-Allamakee-Floyd-Chickasaw-Fayette- Clayton-Wabasha-Dodge-Olmsted-Winona-Mower-Fillmore-Houston- Taylor-Clark-Buffalo-Vernon-Crawford-Richland-Grant- Including the cities of Osage, Cresco, Decorah, Waukon, Charles City, New Hampton, Oelwein, Elkader, Wabasha, Dodge Center, Rochester, Winona, Austin, Preston, Caledonia, Medford, Neillsville, Alma, Viroqua, Prairie Du Chien, Richland Center, and Platteville 437 AM CDT Sun May 3 2020 ...Elevated to Near Critical Fire Weather Conditions Again Today... The combination of low afternoon humidity and gusty winds will result in elevated fire weather conditions again today. Winds could gust into the 30 to 35 mph range and humidities could be as low as 20 percent. These conditions will support rapid spread of any fires that develop. Please refrain from burning.
Rain chances increase by late Monday
Rain showers are expected to move into western Minnesota Monday afternoon. The showers spread eastward later Monday afternoon, and they could arrive in the Twin Cities metro area by Monday evening. Periods of rain are likely in Minnesota and western Wisconsin Monday night, mixing with snow showers in northern Minnesota. Showers linger into Tuesday in northern Minnesota, eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Monday morning though Tuesday morning:
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.
