Temps start to recover; aiming for 70 on Saturday

Our average high temp is 65 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area this time of year. We topped out in the 40s the past two days.

There's nowhere to go but up!

Temperature trends

Highs are expected to reach the 50s across most of Minnesota this Thursday afternoon, with some 40s in north-central and northeastern Minnesota.

Friday highs return to the 60s in central and southern Minnesota, with mostly 50s north:

Saturday highs range from the 50s in the far north to the lower 70s in parts of the south:

Many spots in the south will see highs in the 60s on Sunday, with 50s north:

Looking into next week, metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 60s Monday and Tuesday.

Rain and snow

Parts of north-central and northeastern Minnesota will see rain and snow showers at times today. Patchy morning drizzle or a brief sprinkle will be possible in the south.

Scattered showers could move across northern and western Minnesota on Friday, but they should hold off until Friday evening in the Twin Cities metro area.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Friday and Friday evening:

Scattered showers could move across Minnesota late Saturday into early Sunday

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

River levels

There are numerous flood warnings still in effect along rivers in Minnesota. You can get flood warning updates by clicking on any green-shaded location on the National Weather Service Twin Cities website. The latest flood warnings for northwestern Minnesota can be found on the NWS Grand Forks, N.D., site.

You can click on any location on the NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service  (AHPS) site to get hydrographs of recent and forecast river levels. Some locations list levels in feet above sea level, others list levels in feet above a local reference point.

Here’s the Thursday morning hydrograph for the Mississippi River at St. Paul:

The river level at St. Paul continues to trend downward, but the lower portions of trees on the eastern side of Raspberry Island are still under water this Thursday morning:

Projected river levels are updated on a regular basis, so check back to the AHPS site and the National Weather Service point forecasts for the latest info on the rivers near you.

If you’d like to scroll through hydrographs along a certain river in central or southern Minnesota, check here. Hydrographs for the Red River can be found here.

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.