Record highs on Saturday; warm again Sunday

This sure doesn’t look or feel like the beginning of March.

Twin Cities metro area highs were in the 60s on Saturday. Those are typical metro area high temps near the end of April. The average Twin Cities high is just 35 degrees this time of year.

The Saturday high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 63 degrees, which shattered the previous March 2 Twin Cities record high of 54 degrees. New March 2 record highs were also set at St. Cloud (58 degrees), Rochester (64 degrees) and Eau Claire Wis. (59 degrees).

Some record high temps are also expected on Sunday.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 35 degrees on March 3. Metro area highs will reach the upper 60s to around 70 this Sunday.

Sunday afternoon highs will range from 40s in far northern Minnesota to lower 70s in the southeast:

Here are some of the existing March 3 record highs that could be broken on Sunday:

Twin Cities: 65 (1905)

St. Cloud: 61 (1905)

Rochester: 56 (1946)

Eau Claire, Wisc.: 58 (1894)

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 25 to 35 mph range in many areas. Here are forecast wind gusts for noon on Sunday:

Temperatures retreat on Monday, with highs ranging from 20s in northwestern Minnesota to 50s in the southeast:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 40s Tuesday and Wednesday, then around 50 Thursday followed by mid 40s on Friday.

Precipitation chances

Northwestern Minnesota and portions of north-central Minnesota could see snow showers at times Saturday evening.

Northwestern Minnesota and parts of north-central Minnesota could see a wintry mix at times Saturday night into Sunday. A winter weather advisory includes three northwestern Minnesota counties from midnight Saturday night to 6 a.m. Monday:

Here are details of the advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 322 PM CST Sat Mar 2 2024 MNZ004>006-041200- /O.CON.KFGF.WW.Y.0011.240303T0600Z-240304T1200Z/ Kittson-Roseau-Lake Of The Woods- Including the cities of Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Casperson, Fox, Hayes Lake State Park, Malung, Pencer, Roseau, Salol, and Baudette 322 PM CST Sat Mar 2 2024 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of around one tenth of an inch. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Kittson, Roseau and Lake Of The Woods Counties. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at travel.dot.nd.gov and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

Updated forecasts for northern Minnesota will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in Duluth and Grand Forks.

Scattered showers are possible Sunday in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Parts of northern Minnesota could see more extensive showers, and northwestern Minnesota could see a wintry mix at times. An isolated thunderstorm is also possible in Wisconsin Sunday afternoon.

The chance of a rainshower in the Twin Cities metro area appears to be mainly Sunday afternoon/early Sunday evening.

Some rainshowers are possible Monday morning in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A sprinkle or flurry is possible in the Twin Cities Monday morning.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Weather nugget

The warmest temperature reported at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport last March was 45 degrees. March 2024 delivered a high of 59 on March 1, followed by today’s high of 63.

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.