Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Warm weekend gives way to a wetter pattern next week

High near 80 south Saturday; mostly 70s Sunday

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

We’re getting a wide variety of weather in the next week across Minnesota.

Friday brought temperatures into the 90s in western Minnesota. Madison recorded 93 degrees Friday afternoon. Granite Falls did that one better at 94 degrees. As of this post time, the Twin Cities has hit a toasty 85 degrees.

Note the warm nose of air riding into the Upper Midwest Friday afternoon:

Temperatures Friday afternoon
Temperatures Friday afternoon
Oklahoma Mesonet

Saturday brings another warm summerlike day for southern Minnesota. Highs will reach the 80s before a cool front blows through eastern Minnesota around midday. Westerly breezes will gust to 25 mph behind the front Friday across Minnesota.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday
Forecast high temperatures Saturday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The rest of Minnesota will be mainly in the 70s for highs on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday
NOAA

Most of the weekend will be dry, but a few scattered thunderstorms may develop across southern Minnesota on Sunday afternoon.

Wetter pattern ahead next week

Next week looks active and wet for much of Minnesota. The strongest system looks likely on Tuesday.

Here’s the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model run Monday and Tuesday of next week:

NOAA GFS model
Global Forecast System model between 7 a.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Wednesday.
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

The setup next week favors a strong fetch of Gulf of Mexico moisture riding northward into Minnesota. That could produce some hefty rainfall totals.

Forecast models are cranking out multi-inch rainfall early next week. The usually trusty European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts lays out a swath of 1 to more than 4 inches of rainfall across southern and eastern Minnesota through next Tuesday.

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

This year has brought record-low severe weather to much of Minnesota so far. That’s in direct contrast to last year, which was the busiest season for severe weather warnings in the Twin Cities area on record through May.

Stay tuned for potential flash flooding rain next week.