Minor reality check now, 60s return by Friday

Our weather roller coaster ride continues.

309 tonka
Excelsior Bay on Lake Minnetonka via Maynard's webcam.

Our minor March reality check lasts about 24 hours this time.

Tomorrow afternoon the sun pushes temps back into the 50s. By Friday, that spring in your step could be payday, and a warm sun with temps in the 60s once again. Cool high pressure slides east and milder southwest breezes return by Friday. The maps:

309 allfcsts_loop_ndfd
NOAA

Here's the big picture over the next week. Temps push 25 degrees above average again by Friday. A cool rain moves in by Sunday. Then temps spike one more time before what looks like a more significant cool front late next week. It is still March, after all.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

309 kky
Weatherspark ECMWF data

False spring?

It looks like we'll see a couple more stabs of cold in the last half of March. The magnitude of the cold snaps are still in question, but the upper air pattern favors another frigid shot or two around St. Patty's Day.

309 500
NOAA

NOAA's 16-day guidance is cranking out some temperatures in the teens and single digits in late March. I'm not convinced we'll get this cold, but the trend is certainly there for colder weather in the second half of March. This particular product has a tendency to overdo cold in week 2, let's see if this modifies with time.

309 16
NOAA via IPS Meteostar

Meanwhile out west...

Check out the atmospheric river's long tropical moisture plume from near Hawaii aiming for California. Can you say ... Pineapple Express?

Here's a briefing on the coming storms from the Sacramento NWS.

Southern floods

The stalled frontal boundary in the southern states is set to produce some flooding rainfall up to 10 inches in places.

309 7q
NOAA

High seas, floods in Texas.