Bright and warmer

After three consecutive cloudy days, the sunshine has returned to Minnesota!

Here's a sunny Friday morning pic from Duluth:

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Duluth/Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center

Our Friday and Saturday will be mostly sunny across Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

On Sunday, clouds and scattered showers could spread over about the northern third of Minnesota.

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Central Minnesota would see a cloud/sun mix on Sunday, while southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area enjoy plenty of sunshine.

Temps rebound

Our Friday highs will be about 10 degrees warmer than Thursday's highs across much of Minnesota.

Many spots in Minnesota will reach at least 60 degrees Friday afternoon, with some 50s to the northeast.

Highs in the 60s will be common across Minnesota on Saturday, with some 50s in the northwest:

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Northern Minnesota will be quite a bit cooler on Sunday, with highs in the 40s:

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Southern Minnesota will enjoy highs in the 60s Sunday afternoon.

The Twin Cities metro area should see highs in the 60s on Monday, followed by 50s Tuesday through Thursday.

Rain chances next week

Northern Minnesota has a good chance of showers next Monday and Monday night. Central and southern Minnesota could see scattered showers late Monday into Monday night.

We could see some periods of rain all across Minnesota from next Thursday (April 27) through the following Saturday (April 29).  Northern Minnesota could see some snow mixed with the rain Thursday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern:

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NOAA GFS model precipitation rate from next Thursday through the following Saturday, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the potential precipitation rate, not the total amount of rain or snow.

Earth Day

Saturday is Earth Day.

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NOAA/NASA

The Environmental Protection Agency details the beginning of Earth Day:

It may be hard to imagine that before 1970, a factory could spew black clouds of toxic into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream, and that was perfectly legal. They could not be taken to court to stop it.

How was that possible? Because there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment.

In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities, and it worked! In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the EPA, Earth Day is a day to inspire awareness and appreciation for protecting health and the environment.

Many activities are planned worldwide in observation of Earth Day, and Earth Day Network is a good source of information.

One Earth Day related activity in the Twin Cities on Saturday will be the March for Science.

In the words of March for Science organizers:

On April 22, 2017, a coalition of Minnesotans from all professions and all walks of life, various non-profits, labor unions, and religious groups are marching on the state capitol to show support of higher education and the discovery, access, and understanding of scientific information. We are working to protect and defend science funding, regulatory agencies, and evidence based policy-making in recognition that science plays a vital role in the progress and sustainability of society.

Organizers have posted details on the location and times of Saturday's activities in St. Paul.

Updates can also be found @ScienceMarchMN.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 and 9:35 a.m., plus 4:35 p.m., each Saturday and Sunday.