Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Saturday rain chances highest in northern Minn.; wet at times on Sunday

Temps retreat on Sunday

We’re woke up to wet streets and sidewalks this morning, and some of us could still see some rain today.

Periods of rain are most likely in the northern half of Minnesota plus parts of northwestern Wisconsin the remainder of Saturday morning and into Saturday afternoon. An isolated thunderstorm is also possible in those areas.

Some spots in the southern half of Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin could see a brief shower today.

A low pressure system will be in southeastern Nebraska Sunday morning. That low will track northeastward from there, spreading rain and some embedded thunderstorms across much of Minnesota Sunday into Sunday evening. Northern Minnesota could have dry weather Sunday morning, before the rain moves in during the afternoon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 11 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday:

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Simulated radar from 11 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Use the model as a general outlook, since thunderstorm coverage can’t be predicted with high accuracy one day in advance. Breaks in cloud cover during peak heating can lead to more extensive thunderstorm development.

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

Severe weather outlook

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a marginal risk (shaded darker green) of severe weather Sunday and Sunday night in portions of south-central and southeastern Minnesota plus southwestern Wisconsin:

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Severe weather outlook Sunday and Sunday night
NWS Storm Prediction Center

Marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible:

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Severe weather risk categories
NWS Storm Prediction Center

Weekend temperatures

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 62 degrees on April 27. Metro area highs are expected to reach the lower 60s this Saturday.

Saturday highs will range from 40s in far northern Minnesota to 60s in the far south:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday high temps are forecast to be in the 50s in the Twin Cities metro area and southwestern Minnesota, with 40s in most of the northern half of Minnesota and 60s in parts of southeastern Minnesota:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

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.