Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Cooler pattern brings spotty rain chances

Below-average temperatures through Wednesday

Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
Forecast high temperatures Wednesday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Monday’s high of 93 degrees was the second hottest day of 2023 in the Twin Cities so far this year.

The highest temperature recorded at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport so far this year occurred on July 3 when the temperature hit 95 degrees.

This is climatologically the warmest week of the year in Minnesota. The average high and low in the Twin Cities this week are at the annual peak of 84 and 66 degrees.

Temperatures the rest of this week will run a few degrees below to near average across Minnesota.

Highs again Wednesday (map above) will top out mostly in the 70s across the state, with highs near 80 in the Twin Cities.

By Thursday, temperatures will run a few degrees warmer, pretty close to seasonal averages.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
NOAA

Highs in the lower 80s will persist into the upcoming weekend.

Spotty rainfall chances

We’re still dealing with spotty, localized rainfall opportunities this week. Scattered thundershowers favor western Minnesota through Tuesday night. A few models suggest isolated storms near the Twin Cities overnight or around midday Wednesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s FV3 model shows the gist of the likely scattered rainfall scenario:

NOAA FV3 model
FV3 model between 4 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday.
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Overall, precipitation looks spotty and light for most of Minnesota for the rest of this week. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model below suggests very little rainfall for most of Minnesota with a few locally heavier patches.

European model (ECMWF) precipitation output
Precipitation output forecast
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, via Pivotal Weather

We need rain.