Minnesota sees rain Tuesday and again late week

Following a wet and stormy Tuesday, Minnesota temperatures turn much cooler and are likely to stay below average through the weekend.

Tuesday’s forecast

After the hot weather Monday, Minnesota was still warm just after midnight, with a few 60s north, but much of even northern Minnesota was still in the 70s, and the Twin Cities in the 80s. 
For many places those temperatures will end up being the highs for Tuesday as the combination of colder air from the north, widespread cloud cover and rain turn Tuesday noticeably cooler. 

Minnesota’s morning temperatures are mostly holding steady in the 60s, with a few 50s north and some 70s south. 

Afternoon temperatures will be much cooler than the recent heat, with 60s across the northern half of Minnesota.

In southern Minnesota, the coolest air does not arrive until Wednesday, and a few temperatures could make it back near 80 in the afternoon.   

Along with the cooler air, the storm also brought in showers and storms into the state overnight, and central Minnesota especially is seeing widespread rain Tuesday morning.

With the exception of the northern border, which will miss most of the rain, this storm continues to spread very beneficial precipitation across the state during the day Tuesday.
Most of Minnesota can expect at least a half inch of rain, with many places, especially in central and southern Minnesota, that may see over an inch.

Although this is primarily a rain event, there could be a few thunderstorms in southern Minnesota that become severe, with high winds and large hail as the primary risks.

Embedded thunderstorms could additionally produce a couple heavy downpours that cause isolated localized flooding.

The rain clears north to south from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.

Extended forecast

Behind Tuesday’s storm, skies clear on Wednesday, but cooler air remains. Highs will be in the 70s for most of Minnesota, but parts of eastern Minnesota, where the clouds linger longer, may stay stuck in the 60s. 

Seventies then continue for most of Minnesota through the end of the week. Although that puts us only slightly below average, this will be our first significant stretch of below-average temperatures since the start of summer.

Here is that Twin Cities forecast through Saturday:

Another storm system is primed to bring showers and storms into the state from late Thursday to early Saturday. It currently looks like both the heaviest rain and the biggest risk for severe weather with that storm will target southern Minnesota. 

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.