Cooler Friday, with rain at times; Southeastern Minn. has the best chance of Sat. showers
Cool start to next week, then temps rebound
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
The Thursday afternoon high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was a summery 86 degrees. Blaine in the north metro hit 88 degrees. Some spots in southwestern Minnesota, including Canby and Marshall, had highs in the lower 90s. Much cooler temps are on tap for Friday.
Rain chances increase
A cold front has moved into northwestern Minnesota, and it will track slowly southeastward Thursday night and Friday. The front will combine with an upper level disturbance to generate areas of showers and a few thunderstorms.
Northern Minnesota and parts of central Minnesota will have the best rain chance Thursday evening, then the showers and thunderstorms will expand to cover more of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin overnight Thursday night. Scattered showers and thunderstorms could arrive in the Twin Cities metro area sometime after 2 a.m. on Friday.
You can track showers and thunderstorms on the new interactive radar on the MPR weather page. We will have updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Severe weather outlook
The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a marginal risk of severe weather Thursday evening and overnight Thursday night in the darker-green shaded area that extends from west-central and southwestern Minnesota through northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:
Marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible.
Friday and Saturday rain chances
Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see rain at times on Friday, with a few embedded thunderstorms.
On Saturday, the best rain chances are expected to be from southeastern Minnesota into Wisconsin. NOAA’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 4 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Saturday:
A passing shower could clip the southern parts of the metro area on Saturday.
Southeastern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin could also see rain at times on Sunday.
Temperature trends
Much of northern and western Minnesota will have Friday highs in the 60s. There will be some 70s in southeastern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin. Out Twin Cities temp could be in the upper 70s at 1 a.m. Friday, with a high closer to 70 degrees during the daylight hours.
Saturday highs will be in the upper 60s to around 70:
As a reference, our average Twin Cities high temp is 75 degrees on Sept. 10.
Sunday highs will also be cool.
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 70s on Monday, followed by upper 70s Tuesday and around 80 next Wednesday.
We could see above-normal temps next Thursday into the following weekend. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency for above-normal temps in Minnesota and Wisconsin from Sept. 14 through Sept. 18.
We’ll see if that pans out.
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. Saturday and Sunday.