Weekend weather: Mildest temps on Saturday; showers at times on Sunday
Updated drought report
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The last substantial precipitation in much of Minnesota was March 24 through March 26. That rain and snow during the final week of March was helpful, but much of Minnesota is still in drought.
Here’s the latest drought update from U.S Drought Monitor:
The percentage of Minnesota in drought remains at 43.37 percent. The 43.37 percent includes 11.43 percent of Minnesota in severe drought (shaded orange) and 31.94 percent in moderate drought (beige).
The numbers under each color in the table refer to the percentage of Minnesota in that drought category plus the percentage of Minnesota in the higher drought categories to the right.
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The yellow-shaded area on the map shows 55.24 percent of Minnesota as abnormally dry but not currently in drought, according to U.S. Drought Monitor.
Parts of Wisconsin and much of Iowa are also in drought right now, with extreme drought (red) in a portion of eastern Iowa:
The drought map is released every Thursday morning and includes precipitation (rain plus the water content of snowfall) through 7 a.m. Tuesday. Parts of far southeastern Minnesota saw over one-half of an inch of precipitation from 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday:
Southern and eastern Wisconsin saw even higher precipitation totals in that time frame in the form of snow.
Weekend temps
The average Twin Cities high temperature is 52 degrees on April 6. Metro area highs could reach the upper 50s this Saturday.
Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Saturday highs in the 50s, with some 40s in northeastern Minnesota:
Sunday highs will be in the 40s in many areas, with some 50s in northwestern and north-central Minnesota:
Sunday rain potential
An approaching low-pressure system will bring us gusty winds Saturday afternoon through Sunday. It’ll also bring some periods of rain to southern and central Minnesota plus portions of Wisconsin on Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 1 p.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network.
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.