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Saturday Weather Outlook
Some clouds could be around as we head into the morning hours Saturday, but sunnier skies are expected by the midday and afternoon hours with another pleasant day ahead. Temperatures will start off in the mid-20s, climbing to near 50F for a high.
A fairly sunny day is expected across the state on Saturday, with highs mainly climbing into the 40s. Northeastern Minnesota will be the cold spot, with areas staying in the 30s. Across portions of southern Minnesota, highs could climb into the 50s. These highs will be up to 20F degrees above average in western Minnesota.
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Even Warmer Sunday And Monday
As we look at the rest of the weekend and early next week, temperatures will get another boost upward, with highs topping off around 60F both Sunday and Monday. A few more clouds can be expected Sunday, with sunnier skies once again Monday.
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Record Highs Tuesday?
The warmest day of this stretch will be Tuesday, as highs climb into the 60s across southern and central Minnesota. These temperatures could be record-breaking across the region! Here's a listing of the records for Tuesday:
- Twin Cities: 61F in 1879
- St. Cloud: 61F in 1911
- Brainerd: 58F in 1977
- Rochester: 59F in 1977
- Eau Claire: 58F in 1902
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Average First 50F And 60F
As we look at the average first 50F and 60F temperature in the Twin Cities, the first 50F typically occurs in early March, with the first 60F toward the end of the month. However, our first 50F and 60F has been occurring earlier over the past 30 years vs. looking at the entire Twin Cities record back to the 1870s. In 2020, our first 50F degree day was on March 1st, with the first 60F occurring on March 8th.
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Rain Mid-Next Week With Cooler Temperatures Behind It
As we head into the Wednesday-Thursday timeframe we will be watching a system move through the upper Midwest that does bring the chance of showers and maybe even thunderstorms to southern Minnesota. It could also bring some snow depending on everything across portions of the state. However, there are several differences in the models as to how this system is handled - even run to run of the same model - so there isn't much detail we can get into as to the impacts of this system this far out. However, it could bring our first decent precipitation to the Twin Cities since the beginning of the month.
Cooler air will sink in behind this system for the second half of next week and it appears the middle of the month, with highs generally closer to average in the 30s and 40s.
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Snow Melt Continues
We're almost done with snow depth for the time being at MSP Airport, as you can see a blank spot above on the morning snow depth reading for Friday morning. Officially there was a Trace of snow on the ground, which will quickly be disappearing over the next few days. Now, the MSP Airport doesn't account for other areas around the region, nor for the snow piles that line parking lots, but it's just a sign that the snow continues to melt.
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Ice Cover On Lake Superior Quickly Shrinks
While we saw ice cover greatly increase on Lake Superior during our cold stretch of weather last month, once the temperatures started warming the amount of ice has decreased just as quickly. More from the Star Tribune: "Just as fast as it came, it went. After open water lingered well into February following a warm start to winter, Lake Superior was about 50% covered with ice on Feb. 19, following the polar vortex that kept temperatures below zero across the region. In the warm weeks since, ice has retreated from the North Shore, and the sound of waves lapping at Canal Park has returned. As of Thursday, just 12% of the big lake had ice on it. Using a new experimental model this year, researchers predicted a low ice season for Lake Superior and the Great Lakes overall, but the solid stretch of low temps helped build ice rapidly as Lake Superior reached its long-term average maximum level of ice this year."
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How Mild Will It Get? Have a Seat
By Paul Douglas
"Hey Paul, how mild will it get tomorrow?" Here, have a seat. Not too close, mind you. Perfect. A myriad of factors go into predicting the daytime high. Weather models are a guide, but they are a guide, not Gospel.
Meteorologists factor in predicted cloud cover: sunnier days are warmer than gray days. Little surprise there. Snow cover makes a difference. Once most of the snow melts more of the sun's energy can go into heating the air. Is there sufficient "mixing" in the atmosphere to bring mild air aloft down to the surface? By this time my new friend has wandered away. "TMI Paul".
The calendar whispers March but the atmosphere will shout April early next week. 50F today with a good chance of the first 60 since November 9, 2020 on Sunday. As much as I like snow I'm OK with that. I predict precious little work will get done next Tuesday. Wednesday rain signals the approach of another cold front. Chilly air but not polar. Parkas are now optional, but keep sweatshirts and heavy jackets handy into April.
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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast
SATURDAY: Sunny and nice. Wake up 26. High 50. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.
SUNDAY: Sunny, breezy, even nicer. Wake up 33. High 61. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 15-25 mph.
MONDAY: Sunny, still spectacular. Wake up 32. High 58. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.
TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Typical for April 25. Wake up 43. High 63. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 10-20 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Cooler with some rain. Wake up 42. High 46. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind N 10-20 mph.
THURSDAY: Sunshine returns, still above average. Wake up 32. High 51. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 7-12 mph.
FRIDAY: Clouds and winds increase. Wake up 30. High 50. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.
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This Day in Weather History
March 6th
1836: Unusual cold for March lasts for 12 days at Ft. Snelling. During this time, 7 nights were in the double-digits below zero.
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Average Temperatures & Precipitation for Minneapolis
March 6th
Average High: 36F (Record: 69F set in 2000)
Average Low: 20F (Record: -16F set in 1890)
Average Precipitation: 0.05" (Record: 0.97" set in 1983)
Average Snowfall: 0.4" (Record: 7.0" in 1900)
Record Snow Depth: 24" in 1962
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Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
March 6th
Sunrise: 6:41 AM
Sunset: 6:07 PM
*Length Of Day: 11 hours, 26 minutes and 17 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: ~3 minutes and 7 seconds
*When Do We Climb To 11.5 Hours Of Daylight? March 8th (11 hours, 32 minutes, and 33 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 6:30 AM?: March 12th (6:30 AM)
*Latest Sunset Before Daylight Saving Time: March 13th (6:16 PM)
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National Weather Forecast
On Saturday, a system out in the western United States will bring the chance of rain and snow, with another front approaching the Pacific Northwest Saturday Night. An area of low pressure that will move across Florida will bring the chance of showers and storms for the Gulf Coast and Florida. Lake effect snow will continue downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, with a few snow showers possible across northern New England as well.
The heaviest rain through the weekend will fall along the Pacific coast near the Oregon/California border, where 3"+ of rain will be possible. Across portions of Florida, up to an inch of rain will be possible, particularly Saturday into Saturday Night. Meanwhile, several inches of snow will be possible in the Cascades and Sierra, as well as downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
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NASA's Perseverance rover deploys wind sensor on Mars
More from Live Science: "NASA's Perseverance rover continues to get up to speed on the Red Planet. Since Perseverance's picture-perfect landing on Feb. 18, the rover team has been methodically checking out its seven science instruments and various subsystems. For example, Perseverance just deployed its wind sensor, as before-and-after photos captured by the six-wheeled robot's navigation cameras show. The wind sensor is part of Perseverance's weather station, which is called the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA). The instrument will monitor air temperature, humidity, radiation, dust and wind at Perseverance's landing site, the floor of Jezero Crater, a 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) hole in the ground that harbored a deep lake and a river delta in the ancient past."
Air pollution puts children at higher risk of disease in adulthood, according to Stanford researchers and others
More from Stanford: "Children exposed to air pollution, such as wildfire smoke and car exhaust, for as little as one day may be doomed to higher rates of heart disease and other ailments in adulthood, according to a new Stanford-led study. The analysis, published in Nature Scientific Reports, is the first of its kind to investigate air pollution's effects at the single cell level and to simultaneously focus on both the cardiovascular and immune systems in children. It confirms previous research that bad air can alter gene regulation in a way that may impact long-term health – a finding that could change the way medical experts and parents think about the air children breathe, and inform clinical interventions for those exposed to chronic elevated air pollution."
Major Utilities Are Gearing Up to Install EV Charging Stations Across 16 States
More from Earther: "It could soon become a lot easier to take an electric car on some pretty cool road trips. A group of powerful utilities said Tuesday that they're teaming up to make chargers for electric cars more accessible on highways. The newly-formed Electric Highway Coalition is made up of six big regional utilities—American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Entergy, Southern Company, and Tennessee Valley Authority—that provide electricity across the South. The utilities said they will work together to "provide EV charging solutions within their service territories," according to an industry press release announcing the move. A map provided in the release shows a map of the projected area of the network, which includes more than 15 states, with highways stretching from Texas to Florida up to Virginia and over to Indiana."
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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).
- D.J. Kayser
