Transition day to windy, much colder weather
A cold front sliding eastward across Minnesota this morning is bumping last week's balmy air off to the east, to be replaced by much colder Canadian air.
Scattered rain showers are likely to continue Monday, mainly across northern Minnesota.
The transition to colder weather will begin as the wind from the south swings around to the northwest behind the front. Winds will increase and temperatures will begin to slide downward this afternoon.
Wind on its way
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Winds will really howl across western Minnesota later Monday. A wind advisory has been posted from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. for southwestern Minnesota including Marshall, Pipestone, Worthington and Windom. Wind gusts could reach 50 mph at times in that area.
An additional wind advisory has been issued from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. for Traverse and Big Stone counties, including Wheaton and Ortonville, in west-central Minnesota for slightly lower speeds.
More wind Monday night
Wind speeds usually diminish by sunset as the surface boundary layer becomes decoupled from faster-moving air aloft. That will not be the case Monday night, however, as impressive winds aloft are expected to continue to mix down to the surface. Much of central and southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities area, will experience strong and gusty winds during the overnight hours and on Tuesday. More wind advisories are likely to be issued.
Blustery Tuesday
A raw northwest wind tomorrow will usher in chilly temperatures that will hang around at least into next week. Highs Tuesday will be mainly from the low 40s north to low 50s south. The Twin Cities should have a high of about 48 with some wind gusts to around 40 mph.
Precipitation?
Some rain and snow showers are likely on Thursday and Friday. The snow should be confined to northern parts of the state.
Cold reinforcements
Even colder air will make its way here later in the week. The Twin Cities area is likely to have high temperatures just in the very low 40s on Friday and Saturday. That would be more than 10 degrees colder than normal.