Saturday Winterlude; Southern severe outbreaks

It's mid-April in Minnesota, and the natives are getting a little restless.

Folks around these parts are more than a little ready for some extended spring weather.

It's already the 5th snowiest winter (84.7" and counting) on record, and we'll likely move into 4th place (84.9") by the time you wake up Saturday morning.

Many of us will wince at the slushy & snowy coating Saturday morning. Powerful April sun will come out again Saturday, and most of the white stuff will do a rapid disappearing act.

Blustery wintery winds will gradually ease late Saturday. And Sunday will feel nicer by comparison...with less wind, some sun and temps pushing the low 50s Sunday afternoon.

Overall, the cooler than average weather pattern looks to continue for a while. Next week looks downright soggy as April showers take over. A series of wet weather systems will track into the Upper Midwest next week.

The first shot of rain (snow north?) comes Monday...with a better chance for heavier rain moving in Tuesday. Wednesday looks dry & sunny for now, but new waves of rain may ride in Thursday & Friday of next week.

It appears to this forecaster that rainfall totals could easily exceed 1" to 2+" in the next week in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

This will keep rivers running high.

Want some good news? It looks like next weekend could be sunnier and drier at this point.

Pattern change ahead?

In the longer range, there may be a shift to a drier and much warmer weather pattern in 2 weeks, beginning on or about Friday April 29th.

A shift in the upper air pattern may funnel much warmer air into the Upper Midwest, and it's possible we could see an extended run of at least 70s (maybe 80?) by the first weekend in May.

Stay tuned...

Southern severe outbreaks:

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It's been a bad run of severe weather in the south this week.

Thursday's Oklahoma tornado outbreak featured 16 twister reports.

Friday's numbers are still pouring in, but over 60 tornadoes have been reported in Mississippi and Alabama as of Friday evening.

There are reports of extensive damage and injuries near Clinton, Mississippi.

So far in 2011, about 350 tornadoes have been reported in the USA by SPC. That's about 145 ahead of the pace for 2010.

Last Sunday's tornado outbreak in Wisconsin was the biggest April outbreak on record in Wisconsin.

Multiple tornadoes also ravaged Iowa last Saturday evening.

It remains to be seen whether or not Minnesota will see a repeat of our record 113 tornadoes from 2010. La Nina years can be active tornado years. One thing that seems certain is that it's likely the severe weather pattern will shift north over the next 6-8 weeks, and that Minnesota will probably see our share of severe weather events.

This is severe weather awareness week in Minnesota. Take a few minutes to brush up on your severe weather plan, and to tune up the weather radio.

As always...stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

PH