Monday showers at times, possibly a thunderstorm; a shot at 90 later this week
I've heard from several people who have really enjoyed this stretch of days with highs in the 70s. Those of you that like warmer temperatures won't have to wait very long.
Temperature trends
Highs will be in the 70s across most of Minnesota Monday afternoon, with 60s to the northeast:
Our average high temp is 82 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area this time of year.
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Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 80s Tuesday, followed by mid 80s Wednesday. We're shooting for upper 80s Thursday and Friday, and a few spots in the metro could touch 90.
We'll share those warm temperatures with much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Thursday and Friday. Here are the NWS forecast highs on Thursday:
The summery warmth could last awhile. The NWS Climate Prediction Center indicates that warmer than normal temps are likely in Minnesota next weekend into the first couple of days of July:
Rain and thunder chances
Most of northwestern Minnesota is expected to stay dry through Sunday night, but there will be periods of rain and possibly some embedded thunderstorms across the rest of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night. Some areas could see heavy rain at times.
The periods of rain and a thunderstorm chance continue Monday morning, with the activity becoming more scattered Monday afternoon and evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Monday through Monday 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 rain in some areas that look dry in the NAM, but the loop shows the general rain pattern within the model.
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.
You can see the recent local NWS radar loop here. The recent radar loop for southwestern Minnesota can be found here, and the southeastern Minnesota loop here. The northeastern Minnesota radar loop and the northwestern Minnesota radar loop are also available.
Lightning safety
This is lightning safety awareness week. Here are some lightning myths, from NOAA :
