Sunshine alert: Brightest weeks of the year ahead

The sun came out this morning. Somebody alert the media.

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Bright morning sun in the Twin Cities. Paul Huttner/MPR News.

That light at the end of our seemingly endless long dark tunnel is a welcome sight. Our forecast trends sunnier this week, with a few cloudy spells along the way.

  • OUT: Miserable all day rains with temps in the 40s.

  • IN: A mix of sun and clouds (and a few showers) with highs in the 60s and 70s.

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Can I get a hallelujah!

On pace for wettest year on record at MSP?

Yes, it's still early. Our perpetually drippy faucet will (hopefully) turn off at some point. But so far this year we've already soaked up 11.5 inches of precipitation at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. We're already 3.75 inches ahead of last year's record precipitation pace at this point. 2016 was the wettest year on record in the Twin Cities, with over 40 inches of precipitation at MSP airport.

Twin Cities dry slot

The Twin Cities catches a sunny break today. Clouds and showers swirl over northern Minnesota. Afternoon thunderstorms bubble up over southern Minnesota along the Interstate 90 corridor. There's a slight shower chance in the Twin Cities today, but for most of the day we ride the sunny slot in between.

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GOES 1 km visible loop via College of Dupage.

T-Storms ride the I-90 corridor

Scattered thunderstorms fire along an instability zone across southern Minnesota this afternoon. Expect scattered storms with downpours, hail and gusty winds from Pipestone and Luverne through Worthington, Fairmont, Albert Lea and Rochester.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model takes a stab at storm timing and coverage.

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NOAA HRRR model via tropical tidbits.

Marginal risk

There is a marginal (low) risk a few storms could reach severe limits bracketing I-90 today.

5 22 msp

Tuesday showers then sunnier

A weak low-pressure system brings more clouds and spotty showers Tuesday. High pressure fights back and skies trend sunnier Wednesday into Thursday. Including today, we should see at least some sun three of the next four days.

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NOAA GFS model via tropical tidbits.

Warming up

Temps respond this week. Highs in the 70s will feel spectacular by week's end.

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NOAA via Weather Bell

Pretty good Memorial Day weekend?

Scattered showers return Friday. I'm still cautiously optimistic about our Memorial Day weekend forecast. Finer point details are still shaking out, but I think two of three days this weekend may feature abundant sunshine with highs in the 70s. There is a chance for shower favoring Sunday at this point. Weather fingers crossed.

Stay tuned.

Brightest weeks of the year ahead

We're now entering the brightest nine to 10 weeks of the year in Minnesota. Daylight is now above 15 hours across Minnesota.

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timeadndate.com

We'll enjoy at least 15 hours of daylight from now through July 23. Daylight in the Twin Cities peaks at 15 hours 36 minutes on June 21.

5 22 sun graph
timeanddate.com

Enjoy!