Million-dollar weekend, 40s return next week

One year ago we glared at 10 inches of snow on the ground in the Twin Cities. This year it's brown grass, bright sun, shorts and T-shirts, pasty white arms and legs.

Welcome to a million-dollar March weekend in Minnesota.

Our weather winning streak continues through the weekend. Yes, there are some potential downsides to the lack of snow cover and available snow-melt for recharging low lakes and aquifers. But you have to admit sunshine and 60s are good tonic for the soul after a Minnesota winter. Temperatures budged above the 60-degree mark again Friday afternoon for the third time this week.

Lazy mild high pressure drifts overhead Saturday with light winds and temperatures in the 50s. That's still a good 15 degrees warmer than average for mid-March. Sunday's southwest breeze boost temperatures back in the the upper 60s to 70 degrees in southern Minnesota once again.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the weekend forecast. We push upper 60s again Sunday. Monday's cool front brings us closer to March reality.

Snow: Going, going, gone

The rapid snow melt of the past week has been remarkable. Here's a look at our instant spring landscape from the Minnesota DNR.

NASA's MODIS Terra satellite shot shows ice on lakes is starting to turn black in southern Minnesota. That's a sure sign it's on the way out soon.

I expect ice out to be 2-3 weeks early this year. You can track ice out here. Here's a look at average ice out dates across Minnesota.

Seeley: Records adding up this week. 

Yes, a week ago it seemed impossible to many that winter as we know it could be over. This week's warm spell set several records. MPR News colleague Dr. Mark Seeley has more on this week's unseasonable warm spell in this week's Weather Talk.

Topic: Record Warm March 10th

Hard to believe that the temperature was -40 F at Cotton, MN last week.  Monday, March 10th brought record warm temperatures to many parts of the state.  Bright sunny skies, the absence of snow cover, and south winds produced record afternoon high temperatures motivating many people to take a walk or afternoon bike ride.  Some of those record high temperatures included:

69 F at Amboy;

67F at New Ulm;

66 F in the Twin Cities (tied the record from 2012), Luverne, Waseca, Tracy, and Windom;

65F at Marshall;

63F at Pipestone, Theilman, and Worthington (tied the record from 1900);

61F at St Cloud, Aitkin, and Moose Lake;

59F at Madeison;

58F at Grandk Forks, ND, Duluth, Fargo (tied 1911), Browns Valley, and Grand Portage;

57F at Cloquet and Ada;

56F at Wheaton and Brainerd (tied 1977)

The unusual warmth persisted all week, keeping overnight minimums in the 30s which melted snow cover, and began to thaw the soils.  Many soils in southern and western counties have lost frost down to 6-8 inches, while there is still a deeper layer of frost that will take more time to thaw out.  Further, Thursday, March 12th saw afternoon temperatures approach record levels again with Worthington tying their record at 66 °F and several other locations coming close, but too much cloud cover held temperatures back.

Enjoy our amazing April weekend weather while it lasts.