Sunshine brightens the day; light winds a bonus
On a speaking tour in February and early March I was pointing out to farmers that spring can be cruel. We all had reasonably fresh memories of March 2012. Recall that temperatures were some 15 degrees above normal for the month.
So far this March, temperatures are running more than 6 degrees below normal at the MInneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
I was looking back to last March and found that as we were about to close out the month we had temperatures drop closer to near normal, which are in the 40s for highs and 20s for lows. We have not had the run-up on the thermometer this spring to experience much of a backslide.
After three days in the 70s, March 17-19, 2012 in Duluth, the high temperature was only 37 degrees on March 30th.
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Duluth has yet to reach 40 degrees this month.
Image:MPR Updraft
The soil moisture conundrum in Minnesota continues. Frozen and snow covered landscape will not allow snowmelt to permeate. The snowmelt during the next couple of days is likely to pool in ponds, wet lands and streams. Eventually the runoff will make its way into the mainstream rivers.
Precipitation deficits in Minnesota go back to the later part of summer.
Precipitation has been sparse since the storm on March 17 and 18th.
Yes, there could be a moderate flood on the Red River and drought in Redwood Falls.
Temperatures are expected to respond to March sunshine today and climb close to 40 in some sections of the state. The day begins with some single digit readings in northern MInnesota.
Saturday is looking to be the mildest day of the week.
Wouldn't it be nice to see at least a few bank thermometers top out at 50 on Saturday?
A frontal sytem sweeps through the Midwest on Saturday producing the chance for mixed rain and snow in Minnesota and thunderstorms around Kansas City.
This is the NAM forecast for the six-hourly precipitation on Saturday, ending at 1 p.m. CDT. See the previous blog on where the GFS model put the center of precipitation on top of the Twin Cities on Saturday morning.
Source:NOAA/College of Dupage
A fall-back on the temperatures begins on Sunday and chilly temperatures are in store for Monday, along with brisk northwest winds. Some light snow showers are possible as the colder air takes hold on Sunday afternoon.
Temperatures and wind at 1 p.m. CDT Easter Sunday from GFS Model:
Source:NOAA GFS/Twisterdata.com
Craig Edwards