Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Showery start Thursday; sun returns by Friday

Friday and Sunday look sunny and milder

Spring leaves at the Weather Lab
Spring leaves emerge at the Weather Lab.
Paul Huttner | MPR News

You may be tempted to rearrange some things Friday and Sunday. Those two days bring excellent weather for outdoor activities. But first, a few more showers.

A low-pressure wave will ride northeast into Minnesota Thursday. Showers and a few thunderstorms will move into southwestern Minnesota after midnight. The rain will arrive in the Twin Cities by morning rush hours Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NAM 3 km model shows the progression between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday:

NOAA NAM 3 km model 2
North American Mesoscale 3 km model between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Rain will taper off from south to north in the afternoon in southern Minnesota as the system tracks further north.

Overall, rainfall totals look heaviest along the Iowa border where an inch of rain may fall.

European model (ECMWF) precipitation output
Precipitation output forecast through Thursday
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, via Pivotal Weather

That’s good news considering the recent lingering drought along the Iowa border in southeastern Minnesota.

Nicer Friday

Friday brings a sunnier day to Minnesota. High temperatures will warm into the upper 60s Friday afternoon across southern Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday
NOAA

We catch another light shower wave on Saturday morning, but the rest of the weekend looks better.

Sunday features a bright blue spring sky and warmer temperatures. Highs will push the 70-degree mark across southern Minnesota with 60s well up north.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday
NOAA

Spring deepens.