A Cool And Mainly Cloudy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! Sunday will be a fairly cloudy day in the Twin Cities, with morning temperatures in the low 40s, only climbing to the upper 50s/around 60F for highs. There is a slight chance of a few showers, particularly during the afternoon hours, but that looks to be mainly south of the metro.

As we look statewide for your Mother's Day, cloudy skies can be expected in southern Minnesota with a few isolated afternoon showers. As you head into northern Minnesota, sunnier skies can be expected. Highs will mainly be in the 50s across the state, but they'll remain stuck in the 40s along the North Shore. These highs will be about 10F degrees below average.

_______________________________________________

With it being Mother's Day, there's always time for some fun weather facts! Yes, I am the dull one at parties. The warmest Mother's Day in Twin Cities history was 92F back in 2007. If we do stay below 60F for a high Sunday, it'll only be the 33rd time we've seen a high in the 40s and 50s on Mother's Day. The wettest was back in 2003 when 1.37" of rain fell, and 43 out of the 113 years (about 38%) have had more than a trace of rain. Only once has measurable snow fallen on Mother's Day - back in 1946 when 0.2" fell.

_______________________________________________

We will see some slow warming this week in the Twin Cities, but it does look like we have to take a very slight step backward heading into Monday with temperatures a touch cooler than Sunday. Then we begin the warm-up, with highs in the 60s Tuesday through Thursday.

It appears we'll take another step upward as we head toward Friday and the Fishing Opener weekend, with highs around 70F expected in the Twin Cities.

A Cool And Mainly Cloudy Mother's Day
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there! If you want some fun weather facts for your phone/video call or small gathering to celebrate your mom, wouldn't you know it - I have some! The warmest Mother's Day in Twin Cities history (going back to 1908) was 92F back in 2007. The wettest was back in 2003 when 1.37" of rain fell, and 43 out of the 113 years (about 38%) have had more than a trace of rain. We only saw measurable snow back in 1946 when 0.2" fell.

No snow is expected this Mother's Day, but some occasional showers can't be ruled out across southern Minnesota during the afternoon. It'll be a relatively cool and cloudy day with highs about 10F degrees below average - mainly in the 50s across the state but stuck in the 40s along the North Shore.

We'll see warming temperatures during the work week with 60s by Tuesday and highs approaching 70F late in the week. From Wednesday through the Fishing Opener weekend there will be the chance of some isolated showers - and maybe a rumble or two - but no wash out is expected right now.

_______________________________________________

SUNDAY: Mainly cloudy Mother's Day. Isolated PM showers across southern Minnesota. Wake up 40. High 59. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind N 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. Wake up 39. High 57. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind N 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: Warmer. Some passing clouds. Wake up 38. High 63. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 3-8 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Passing PM shower. Wake up 43. High 64. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

THURSDAY: A few showers around. Wake up 46. High 64. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

SATURDAY: A shower or two for Fishing Opener. Wake up 50. High 70. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

_______________________________________________

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
May 9th

*Length Of Day: 14 hours, 37 minutes and 48 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: ~2 minutes and 29 seconds

*When Do We Climb To 15 Hours Of Daylight? May 19th (15 hours, 0 minutes, and 40 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 5:30 AM?: May 30th (5:30 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/After 8:30 PM?: May 11th (8:31 PM)

This Day in Weather History
May 9th

1966: Minnesota experiences a widespread hard freeze, with temperatures in the teens as far south as Caledonia.

_______________________________________________

On Mother's Day Sunday, an area of low pressure will move from the Central Plains to the Ohio Valley, and with a trailing cold front will bring showers and storms from the Northeast back into the central United States. Another system sinking south across the Rockies will bring the chance of rain and higher elevation snow.

Through Monday evening, at least 1-3" of rain could fall from portions of the Central Plains into the Ohio Valley, as well as across the Lower Mississippi Valley. Up to a foot and a half of snow could fall from the Nothern to the Central Rockies.

_______________________________________________

First in Flight: NASA Just Proved Flying on Mars Is Possible—Next Up Is the Solar System

More from Scientific American: "Picture the scene: A small drone the size of a suitcase descends into a dark Martian crevasse—perhaps a lava tube that was formed billions of years ago by volcanic activity on the Red Planet. The drone illuminates its surroundings, recording views never seen before by human eyes as its suite of instruments seeks out signs of past or present alien biology. Finally, its reconnaissance complete, the drone flies back to a landing zone on the surface to transmit invaluable data back to Earth. After soaking up the Martian sunlight to recharge its batteries, it continues its explorations of terrain inaccessible to any other machine. Far from being some starry-eyed flight of fancy, such a mission could soon become a reality thanks to the resounding success of NASA's Ingenuity rotorcraft, sometimes referred to as a helicopter or drone—a technology demonstration that has taken place on Mars over the past few weeks."

Drought conditions reduce Missouri River runoff forecast

More from the Sioux City Journal: "One of the driest Aprils on record has caused Missouri River reservoir system managers to begin considering water conservation measures later in the year. Runoff into the river basin above Sioux City in April was 44% of average, the ninth-driest level in 123 years of record keeping. As a result, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dropped its 2021 runoff forecast to 17.8 million acre-feet, 69% of average, and down from the 21.3 MAF forecast last month. If the forecast holds, it would rank as the 22nd lowest year for runoff. The average annual runoff is 25.8 MAF. The low amount of water flowing into the river's six reservoirs could affect barge shipping downstream later this summer and winter water releases, said John Remus, chief of the corps' Missouri River Basin Water Management Division."

More from CNET: "California has a right that no other state has, and that is to set its own vehicle emissions standards, provided they're more stringent than the standards adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency. A handful of states have decided to join California in adopting its emissions standards and clean car rules for themselves. According to a report published Friday by the Star Tribune, Minnesota may be the next to come on board. I say "may" because while a Minnesota administrative law judge said that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency could enact these rules without requiring them to go through the state legislature, there are likely to be plenty of lawmakers and lobbyists who will fight the decision. These include Republican state Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, who has threatened to shut down the state's environmental agencies by refusing to pass a budget for them if the agency moves forward."

_______________________________________________

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