Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Seasonably chilly air moves in for the weekend

Parts of northern Minnesota will see some light rain

T loop
Forecast temperatures early Friday through early Monday
College of DuPage weather lab

Two successive cool fronts will finally drop temperatures to below normal readings Sunday and Monday. These will be the first below normal temps in more than a month.

Finally, some chilly air moves in for the weekend and early next week 

Friday will be cooler after much of southern Minnesota reached 80 degrees Thursday, likely the last one of 2024. It will still be above normal with highs in the 70s south to near 60 degrees north with partly cloudy skies.

fri hi 6
Forecast highs Friday
National Weather Service

Saturday will be slightly above normal with highs in the 60s south to 50s north.

A second cold front drops south Saturday night really bringing the chill for Sunday into early next week. Highs Sunday and Monday will be in just the 50s for southern Minnesota and only 40s north.

sun hi 6
Forecast highs Sunday
National Weather Service

We also have a good chance of at least some light rain showers across the northern half of the state late Saturday into Sunday, mostly north of Interstate 94.

Portions of northeastern Minnesota could see localized one-half to 1-inch rainfall amounts. Some of those showers may even mix with some snowflakes into the Arrowhead region Sunday!

NAM wknd
Forecast precipitation and type, 7 a.m. Saturday through 7 a.m. Monday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

While accumulations are probably unlikely due to warm ground and surface temperatures that will be above freezing, some forecast models hint at isolated patches of brief slush on grassy surfaces:

snow models
Forecast potential snowfall Sunday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

The chilly air will lead to the first chance at widespread frost for southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities suburbs early Monday and Tuesday mornings. 

MON NT LO 8a
Forecast lows Monday night
National Weather Service

The urban core of the metro area may stay just above freezing, but almost all suburbs and areas outside the Twin Cities area will see near or below freezing temperatures both early Monday and early Tuesday mornings:

MON NT lo tight
Twin Cities metro area view of overnight lows Monday night into early Tuesday
WeatherBELL Analytics

The chill will last a few days but by mid to late week we’re back to temperatures that will be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above normal, in the low 70s for southern Minnesota by Thursday.

thu hi 8a
Forecast highs next Thursday
National Weather Service