Periods of rain into Monday; updated cloud forecast for Monday's solar eclipse

I tallied one-half inch of rain in St. Paul through 5 p.m. Sunday, and there’s more rain on the way. Much of Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus parts of Iowa, had periods of rain on Sunday. Some spots in central Minnesota also saw some flakes.

Rain outlook

A strong low pressure system was centered over northeastern Nebraska Sunday afternoon. The low will move slowly east-northeastward Sunday evening and overnight into Monday, spinning additional bands of rain across much of Minnesota and Wisconsin and parts of Iowa. Flakes could mix with the rain in portions of central and northern Minnesota.

In addition to the rain, some locations in the southern third of Minnesota and in western Wisconsin could see and/or hear a thunderstorm Sunday evening. Thunderstorm chances will be highest in Iowa.

The rain becomes scattered in southern Minnesota on Monday, with larger areas of rain continuing in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. Monday to 11 p.m. Monday:

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

Solar eclipse weather

Cloudy to mostly cloudy skies are expected over Minnesota and western Wisconsin during the partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon. Here’s the timing of Monday’s partial solar eclipse over the Twin Cities:

NOAA’s simulated cloud cover for noon to 3 p.m. Monday looks like this:

In case there are some gaps in the cloud cover Monday afternoon, make sure that you don’t look directly at the sun. Some solar eclipse viewing tips can be found here.

Based on a blend of several cloud cover forecasts for Monday afternoon, the total solar eclipse could be viewable from northern Arkansas into southeastern Missouri and far southern Illinois plus Indiana, northwestern Ohio and northern portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine:

Note that the cloudiest areas in the forecast graphic above are depicted as shades of blue.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 53 degrees on April 8. Monday highs will be in the 50s in the Twin Cities metro area and much of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with 40s in central and northern Minnesota:

Tuesday highs will be mainly in the 50s, with lower 60s in parts of southwestern and west-central Minnesota:

Metro area highs will reach the upper 50s to around 60. Parts of northeastern Minnesota will top out in the 40s Tuesday afternoon.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid 60s on Wednesday, then around 60 degrees on Thursday and Friday. The metro area will have a shot at upper 60s next Saturday and lower 70s next Sunday…check forecast updates.

Above-normal temperatures could linger beyond next weekend, into the middle of the following week. Here’s the April 13 through April 17 temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center:

Severe weather awareness week

April 8 through April 12 is severe weather awareness week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The National Weather Service will focus on a different aspect of severe weather each day this week:

Active links to each daily topic can be accessed here.

Here’s info on weather alerts and warnings, from the NWS:

Severe Weather Watches and Warnings, and How to Receive Severe Weather Information

Watches...
Are issued when conditions are favorable for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms or flash floods. If you are in a watch area, continue with normal activities but also make plans to seek shelter if necessary.

Warnings...
Are issued when severe weather has been reported or is imminent. Seek shelter immediately if you are in or near the path of the storm. Warnings are issued by county and city names. Make sure you know the name of the county in which you live and the cities that surround you.

Advance Information...
The forecast and warning process begins one or more days ahead of time, when the threat area is determined. Hazardous weather outlooks are issued early every morning, and updated as conditions warrant.

If a Watch is Issued...
Local weather offices are staffed with extra personnel. State officials are notified and they pass the information to the county and local level. Counties and cities activate their spotter groups as the threat increases. TV and radio stations pass the word to the public.

If a Warning is Issued...
Warnings are disseminated swiftly in a multitude of ways, including TV, radio, and over the internet. Advances in technology have allowed people to receive warnings via cell phone, pager, and numerous other methods. Spotters provide important reports on the storm, and emergency officials carry out the plans that the emergency managers have developed. Updates are issued frequently until the immediate threat has ended.

Sirens...
Counties and cities own the sirens and therefore decide how and when to activate them.  The National Weather Service does not sound them. There are many different policies by counties and cities. Some will activate them across the entire county for a tornado warning only. Others will activate sirens countywide for tornado warnings and all severe thunderstorm warnings. Some will activate sirens across the entire county for tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms that have winds of at least 70 or 75 mph.  Others will activate sirens only for portions of counties. Also, local officials may sound the sirens anytime they believe severe weather is a threat, even if there is no warning from the National Weather Service.

Sirens normally sound about 3 minutes and then go silent. It is very rare to keep the sirens sounding for the entire warning, since that will cause the backup battery to run out, which would be critical in the event power goes out. Furthermore, the siren motor will fail much more quickly if the siren sounds continuously. Some jurisdictions may repeat siren activation every few minutes.  There is no such thing as an "All Clear" for storms.

Media...
Media outlets receive the warning information and disseminate it to you, often by interrupting programming. Many television stations use a crawl and other visual means.

NOAA Weather Radio...
The tone alert feature of NOAA Weather Radio will activate specially built receivers, sounding an alarm to alert you to the danger.  It sounds its alert anytime the National Weather Service issues a warning, even in the middle of the night. Make sure you have a NOAA Weather Radio, as you can not always depend on sirens, phone calls or seeing the warnings on television.

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.