A break in the steady rain; soggy Saturday

Turn off the water!

The downpours of Wednesday evening have moved on, but eastern Minnesota will see some periods of showers this Thursday morning into early afternoon.

Minnesota has seen some impressive rainfall totals over the past few days:

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NWS Twin Cities

Many spots in the central and eastern portions of the Twin Cities metro area have seen over 3 inches of rain this week.

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Some areas in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin have recorded 4 to 6 inches of rain for the week.

A new Twin Cities record for May 17 rainfall was set yesterday, with 1.81 inches recorded at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Friday will be mostly dry across Minnesota, but scattered showers could return to the far south by Friday evening.

Rainy Saturday

A low-pressure system will move toward Minnesota Saturday, bringing us periods of rain and possibly a few thunderstorms.

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

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NOAA GFS model precipitation rate from Friday night through Sunday, via tropicaltidbits

Showers could linger over northern Minnesota into Sunday.

Cool weekend

Our average high temperature is 70 degrees this time of year in the Twin Cities.

We'll be much cooler than 70 today and Friday.

The clouds and rain on Saturday will keep Minnesota highs mostly in the 50s, with some 40s in parts of northern Minnesota:

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Southern Minnesota might see some lower 60s Sunday afternoon, if a few breaks appear in the cloud cover:

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Highs in the 50s will be common in northern Minnesota on Sunday.

Looking ahead, the Twin Cities metro area could touch 70 degrees on Monday, followed by highs in the 60s Tuesday and Wednesday.

Warm start to May

Through May 17, the average temperature for this month is running 2.5 degrees warmer than normal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The preliminary May climate report for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, from the National Weather Service, has the daily temperature details:

rt0518May2
NWS

The column labeled "DEP" is highlighted, since it shows each day's departure from normal.

Days that have positive numbers in the "DEP" column are warmer than normal, taking the average of the high and low temperature of each day.

We've tallied 14 warmer than normal days in the Twin Cities so far this month, and only three days that were colder than normal.

The cool weather of the next few days will lower our average monthly temp in the Twin Cities a bit.

Severe weather outlook

A severe weather outbreak is possible in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma this afternoon and tonight.

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a high risk for severe weather in that area today and tonight:

rt0518svr
NWS Storm Prediction Center

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. and 9:35 a.m. each Saturday and Sunday.