Comfortable temps today: thunder chance increases overnight
If asked to request their ideal high temperature, many Minnesotans would probably go for upper 70s or lower 80s.
Many Minnesota highs will end up in that range this Thursday afternoon.
It'll be a bit cooler that that along the north shore of Lake Superior.
Temperature trends
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Minnesota highs will be mostly in the 70s Friday, with some lower 80s southwest. 60s are expected along the north shore of Lake Superior:
Similar highs are on tap for Saturday:
Eighties expand to cover much of southern and central Minnesota on Sunday:
Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 70s Friday and Saturday, followed by lower 80s Sunday through Wednesday.
Our average Twin Cities high temperature reaches 77 degrees by this weekend.
Rain opportunities
Far southern Minnesota has the best chance of showers and a few thunderstorms as we go through the daylight hours this Thursday. There is a chance of very scattered showers today from west-central Minnesota to near the western edge of the Twin Cities metro area.
The shower and thunderstorm coverage expands a bit this Thursday evening and overnight Thursday night, with the Twin Cities metro area included in the mix.
Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and updates are also posted on the MPR News live weather blog.
On Friday, southern and far northwestern Minnesota could see occasional scattered showers and thunderstorms.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from Thursday evening through Friday evening:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain.
It'll probably rain in some areas that look dry in the loop, but the loop shows the general rain pattern picked up by the NAM.
The best chance of occasional scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday appears to be in northern Minnesota, but that could change.
May warmth
According to the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information:
For May, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 65.4°F, 5.2°F above the 20th century average. This surpassed the previous May record of 64.7°F set in 1934.
Many areas in the contiguous United States were either much warmer than normal, or saw record warmth, during May:
Based on statewide temperatures, May 2018 was our third warmest May on record in Minnesota. The Twin Cities metro area recorded its second warmest May. The warmest May in Twin Cities weather records occurred in 1934.
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.