Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Bright Monday; light rain-snow mix possible Thanksgiving Day

Milder temps return this week; Thursday highs in the 30s

rt1120stp
Sunday in St. Paul
Ron Trenda/MPR News

We enjoyed plenty of sunshine on Sunday. It was the sunniest day in the Twin Cities since Nov. 7. That’s almost two weeks!

The Sunday high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 30 degrees. That’s well shy of our average Nov. 20 high of 40 degrees, but it was a nice rebound from the upper teens of Saturday afternoon.

Monday highs will be mainly in the 20s in northern and central Minnesota, with a few lower 30s in southern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin:

rt1121h16
Monday forecast highs
National Weather Service

A few spots in the metro area could top 30 degrees.

Monday afternoon wind gusts will be less than 14 mph in most areas:

rt1121g16
Monday noon forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Forecast gusts are in knots, with 11 knots equal to 12.7 mph. Higher gusts are expected in far northeastern Minnesota.

Monday afternoon wind chill temps (which are based on sustained winds, not wind gusts) will be mainly in the teens and lower 20s:

rt1121wc16
Monday noon forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Back to forecast high temperatures, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid-30s on Tuesday, followed by upper 30s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I should mention that Thanksgiving Day highs are expected to reach the 30s across most of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin.

Our average Twin Cities high temperature retreats to the mid-30s by the end of November. We could see metro area highs around 40 degrees next weekend. The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency for above-normal temps from next weekend into the start of the following week:

rt1120ext
Temperature outlook Nov. 26 through Nov. 30
NWS Climate Prediction Center

Precipitation outlook

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday look dry across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Far northern Minnesota could see some light snow late Monday night into early Tuesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 11 p.m. Monday to noon on Tuesday:

rt1120rad7
Simulated radar from 11 p.m. Monday to noon on Tuesday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Some forecast models show a chance for a light rain, light snow mix in portions of Minnesota and adjoining states late Wednesday night and Thursday. It doesn’t look like a major weather event, but check forecast updates over the next few days if you have Thanksgiving week travel plans.

We have updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.

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.