Some sun at times, with a shower or thunderstorm possible
If you ask a meteorologist whether you'll need your sunglasses or your umbrella this weekend, they'll probably say "yes".
We'll have some periods of sun or a sun/cloud mix, but scattered showers and a few thunderstorms are possible both days, mainly during the afternoon and evening hours.
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service indicates the potential for general thunderstorms, not severe weather, over Minnesota and Wisconsin this Saturday and Saturday night:
Our Saturday highs should reach the 70s statewide, with similar highs on Sunday:
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Dew point temperatures will be reasonable this weekend, mostly in the 50s.
The week ahead
There isn't any big warmup in sight.
Temperatures are likely to run slightly below average over much of Minnesota this coming week.
Twin Cities high temps will be around 80 Monday and Tuesday, with upper 70s Wednesday through Friday.
The best chance of rain this week will be Wednesday into Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the rainfall rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain.
August 21 eclipse
There's already a lot of buzz about the total solar eclipse that will be viewable in parts of the U.S. on August 21:
The darkest blue band shows the areas that will see a total solar eclipse.
It won't be a total solar eclipse in Minnesota, but a 75% eclipse is also impressive!
As we get closer to August 21, the NWS Solar Eclipse page will be a good source of viewing information.
NASA has posted some guidelines for safe viewing of the solar eclipse.
NWS big picture
If you're wondering exactly what the National Weather Service does, and how they do it, there is updated info available:
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 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.