Lovely Memorial Day weather for most; a dry week heading toward a sizzling weekend

We got rather lucky this Memorial Day weekend with pleasantly warm temperatures and mostly rain-free days. Minnesota weather in late May can be notoriously fickle and ill-mannered.

Since Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971, the hottest Memorial Day in the Twin Cities was a scorching 100 degrees just three years ago in 2018. Rochester reached 95 degrees that day while St. Cloud topped out at 96.

Rain is common for Memorial Day weekend. The wettest Memorial Day for the Twin Cities was just a year later in 2019 when 1.83 inches fell. Rochester got soaked with 3.33 inches.

Memorial Day last year was muggy with a high of 78 and a little rain in the Twin Cities.

Scattered evening storms

A cold front, upper-level disturbance and afternoon heating have conspired to rev up scatterings of thunderstorms over south central and southern Minnesota as well as across Wisconsin. Some storms have been strong with nickel-size hail as they track toward the east-southeast.

The Storm Prediction Center has posted a marginal risk of severe weather for west central to northeastern Wisconsin through this evening. Storms should weaken as temperatures cool later in the evening.

Sizzling June weather late in the week

Tuesday and Wednesday will be pleasant June days without much humidity. High temperatures on Tuesday will be mainly mid-70s to low 80s with the Twin Cities coming in around 79 degrees. Wednesday will be a bit warmer with highs mostly 80s.

Look for the heat to get turned up to “Summer” on Thursday and especially toward the weekend. High temperatures from Friday through Sunday should be from the low 80s to low 90s with the Twin Cities possibly reaching the low 90s all three days. Much cooler temperatures will prevail close to Lake Superior whenever the wind flows in from the chilly lake.

Also expect the mugginess of climbing dew points to come our way as the heat builds.

Dry week

There are a couple chances of isolated showers or thunderstorms during the coming week, but the forcing will likely be so weak that they are not worth mentioning at this time. Grass seed and new garden plants will need watering, especially as we turn hotter.

Toasty June?

June gets its start tomorrow. The thermal outlook from the Climate Prediction Center is for the likelihood of warmer than normal temperatures for the month for Minnesota and Wisconsin. Seriously warm weather seems to be likely for the Northeast and for a huge area of the droughty West.