Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Scattered showers and t-storms at times on Friday and Saturday

First 70s of 2022 on Saturday

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Marjorie McNeely Conservatory St. Paul April 7, 2022
Ron Trenda/MPR News

We’re thinking spring now! Our Thursday sunshine was great, and it was accompanied by highs in the 50s.

Our Friday high temp was 56 degrees at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. We hadn’t seen a high in the 50s since April 12. Our first 70s of 2022 are expected on Saturday.

Temperature trends

Friday highs will range from the 40s in far northern Minnesota to 60s in southwestern Minnesota…with a lot of 50s in-between:

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Friday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Saturday highs reach the 70s in much of central and southern Minnesota plus western Wisconsin:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

We’ll probably top out in the mid 70s in the Twin Cities on Saturday, which is well above our average April 23 high of 60 degrees. 

Sunday highs will be much cooler, with 40s in the north and west, and 50s from the Twin Cities metro area into southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Our Twin Cities highs in the lower 50s on Sunday will be followed by lower 40s on Monday, then upper 40s Tuesday and mid 50s on Wednesday.

Rain and thunderstorm chances

Northwestern Minnesota could see a rain/snow mix late Thursday night into Friday morning. Periods of rain showers are possible for much Minnesota and western Wisconsin Friday and Friday evening, with a few embedded thunderstorms at times.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Friday:

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Simulated radar 6 a.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Friday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Keep in mind that computer models cannot be expected to forecast individual thunderstorms. Thunderstorm coverage will depend on the destabilization that occurs in any given area.

Minnesota and western Wisconsin will also have scattered showers and thunderstorms at times on Saturday and Saturday night.

Severe weather outlook

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather Friday and Friday night in southwestern Minnesota, with a marginal risk of severe weather elsewhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Severe weather outlook 7 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday
NWS Storm Prediction Center

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible, while marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible:

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Severe weather risk categories
NWS Storm Prediction Center

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather Saturday and Saturday night (shaded yellow) for much of Minnesota and a portion of west-central Wisconsin:

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Severe weather outlook 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday
NWS Storm Prediction Center

Check forecast updates Friday and Saturday.

Still snow up north

Much of northern Minnesota still has snow on the ground. Here’s the weekly snow depth map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

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Thursday snow depths
Minnesota State Climatology Office/Minnesota DNR

The areas shaded light-purple in Cook County and eastern Lake County of northeastern Minnesota have snow depths of at least 24 inches!

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.