Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Bright and warm Saturday; cooler with rain chances on Sunday

80s for much of next week

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Minnehaha Creek in Minnetonka May 6, 2022
Ron Trenda/MPR News

It’s great when we have sunshine and pleasant temps on a weekend day!

Saturday will feature plenty of sunshine across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Most areas will see highs in the 70s, but there will be some 60s in parts of northeastern Minnesota. A few spots up along the North Shore of Lake Superior could top out in the upper 50s.

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 66 degrees this time of year, so 70s Saturday afternoon will be several degrees above normal.

Wind advisory northwestern Minnesota

A wind advisory runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Saturday for northwestern Minnesota counties along the Red River and for eastern North Dakota:

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Wind advisory (light brown) 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
National Weather Service

Here are details of the wind advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 346 AM CDT Sat May 7 2022 MNZ001>004-007-029-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-038-039-049- 052>054-080000- /O.NEW.KFGF.WI.Y.0009.220507T1900Z-220508T0000Z/ West Polk-Norman-Clay-Kittson-West Marshall-Wilkin-Towner- Cavalier-Pembina-Benson-Ramsey-Eastern Walsh-Eddy-Nelson- Grand Forks-Griggs-Steele-Traill-Barnes-Cass-Ransom-Sargent- Richland-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Breckenridge, Cando, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Fort Totten, Maddock, Leeds, Minnewaukan, Devils Lake, Grafton, Park River, New Rockford, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Grand Forks, Cooperstown, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Valley City, Fargo, Lisbon, Enderlin, Gwinner, Milnor, Forman, Rutland, Wahpeton, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 346 AM CDT Sat May 7 2022 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...South winds 30 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...From 2 PM this afternoon to 7 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Difficult travel for high profile vehicles is possible. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Flood warnings continue along the Red River and in several additional spots in northwestern Minnesota. You can find info on flood warnings and wind advisories in northwestern Minnesota at the NWS site here.

Rivers and streams in northeastern Minnesota are also running high right now:

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Rivers and streams are running high
National Weather Service

Rain chances

The daylight hours of Saturday look dry for most of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin. Some showers and thunderstorms could move into far western Minnesota after about 9 p.m., then spread eastward overnight. Periods of showers are expected across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday morning/early afternoon, with a few t-storms also possible. Shower and thunderstorms will probably become more scattered by late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. on Sunday:

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NAM simulated radar 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) model shows a similar rain pattern:

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HRRR simulated radar 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Check forecast updates Sunday morning, the timing and coverage of the rain could change.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

The weather looks unsettled next week, with showers and thunderstorms from time to time.

Temperature trends

Sunday highs will be in the 60s in western and southern Minnesota, with mainly 50s elsewhere:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday wind gusts will be over 30 mph in much of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Sunday 1 p.m. forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 27 knots equal to 31 mph.

Back to temperatures, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 80s on Monday, followed by mid 70s Tuesday, then lower 80s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Weather nugget

The Twin Cities record high for May 7 is 92 degrees, set back in 1963. The coldest Twin Cities high temp for this date is 38 degrees, set in 1907…there was a trace of snow that day too!

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.