Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Very windy Wednesday with lingering clouds, moisture east

Western Minnesota will see more sunshine the next day or two

max gusts WED
Forecast maximum wind gusts Wednesday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

Updated 9:30 a.m.

A slowly moving system to our east will keep some lingering clouds in eastern Minnesota, with rain and snow showers in southeastern Minnesota. It will be very windy statewide. 

Windy Wednesday with some lingering moisture east

The big weather story Wednesday is the wind. In the wake of two systems, blustery north winds will blow at 20-30 mph with gusts over 40 mph in southern Minnesota through the day.

wed winds
Forecast wind gusts 6 a.m. through 6 p.m. Wednesday
College of DuPage weather lab

There will also be some lingering clouds in eastern Minnesota as the southeast system is very slow to depart. Southeastern Minnesota will even see lingering snow and rain showers. 

wed prec 9a
Forecast precipitation 9 a.m. Wednesday through 1 a.m. Thursday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

There will be some additional accumulation in far southeastern Minnesota of up to 1-3 inches.

WED snow
Forecast additional snowfall Wednesday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Highs will mostly be in the 40s across the state Wednesday but slightly warmer west, where there will be the most sunshine.

wed hi 9a
Forecast highs Wednesday
National Weather Service

Warmer ahead of the next storm system

Thursday and Friday will see a slight uptick in temperatures with highs in the 50s starting to expand into central and southern Minnesota from the west.

sat hi 9a
Forecast highs Saturday
National Weather Service

The next storm system moves in Sunday and Monday, bringing the potential for more rain and even some snow showers. 

sun-mon
Forecast precipitation Saturday night through Monday
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, via Pivotal Weather

Some of the forecast models hint at the possibility of some snowfall Sunday. This will depend on the timing of the precipitation when temperatures are colder.

snow models
Various forecast model scenarios for potential snowfall Sunday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Forecast cloud cover for the eclipse?

Many are hoping to catch a glimpse of the total solar eclipse Monday afternoon. In Minnesota it will be partial and also likely mostly overcast.

The graphic below is a blend of the forecast models, a sort of weighted average among the models for forecast cloud cover in terms of percentage of the sky covered for 1 p.m. Monday. Whiter areas are more clear while bluer areas are overcast.

clouds Eclipse
Forecast cloud cover for 1 p.m. Monday (approximate total eclipse time frame) with path of totality
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather