Good morning everyone! As the sun continues to rise this morning, many will find plentiful sunshine with no clouds in the sky due to a lack of energy and moisture. However, this is not the case in northeastern MN where a weak piece of upper-level energy is gliding along the MN/Canadian border. This energy will help to keep clouds around for the remainder of the morning, but as the energy works eastward into the early afternoon we’ll see a gradual clearing trend west to east with sunshine likely in the latter half of the day. Precipitation chances remain slim at this time with a better coverage expected further north across the border. We can’t rule out a few sprinkles/snowflakes making it down to the surface, but dry air will do work against this precipitation and evaporate most of it.
Here’s a simulated radar that runs through 4pm CDT: Again, rain/snow showers will be pushing through southern Ontario and possibly the very far northeast portions of MN this morning. Most of the precipitation shown in northeastern MN will likely not reach the ground. Elsewhere, continued dry weather will prevail with ample sunshine.
Areas of cloud cover in northeastern MN will exit by 2pm CDT with the entire region bathed under sunshine with some clouds here and there. It won’t be until the afternoon and especially the evening when some high-level cirrus clouds work in from the west and become draped near the ND/SD border. As stated previously, rains are not expected so any outdoor plans/travel shouldn’t have problems.
We’ll work in a bit more energy with an upper-level trough swinging through the northeastern portions of the area Monday, resulting in areas of cloud cover in northeastern ND into northern MN. As is the case with today, dry air will be in abundance so precipitation chances are quite low. However, there may be a few sprinkles/snowflakes that make it to the ground in the northern third of MN where slightly more energy resides. The rest of ND, SD and southern MN will lack this energy as this system should stay northeast, resulting in another day full of sunshine with little in the way of problems.
Models differ on precipitation amounts and evolution during the upcoming week. However, it is still looking likely that the next 7 days end up on the less active side with the highest precipitation amounts approaching 0.5″ in spots. Light rain chances will increase across western SD late Tuesday, gradually working eastward Wednesday into Thursday. More light rain chances will follow late week into the weekend. The first image below is total precipitation from the European Model through the next 7 days while the second image is 7-day precipitation from normal. Most of the region is still expected to end up below average in the rainfall department. A few areas may even see little to no rain, with an emphasis on the far western Dakotas.
High temperature guidance over the next four days: Chilly air will remain in MN today with highs in the 40s and 50s while high temperatures increase as you head westward across the Dakotas. 50s and 60s will be prevalent in the Dakotas today, especially SD. Colder air will creep back southward from Southern Canada Monday and especially Tuesday as a result of an upper-level trough swinging through the Great Lakes.
Low temperature guidance over the next four mornings: A reinforcing cold front will drop temperatures back into the 20s for many areas across MN Monday night with a slight warming trend expected in lows for Wednesday night.
Wind guidance over the next four days: Winds will be far lighter today in MN compared to yesterday with gusts only approaching 25 mph at times. High pressure Tuesday will result in very light winds in the eastern half to the region while southerly flow will keep gusts around in the western Dakotas.
Here’s a look at the city charts for Bismarck, Fargo, Sioux Falls and Minneapolis over the next 10 days:
If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out! Have a great rest of your weekend!