A weak wave of energy will drift through the region and will bring us a light chance of rain during the afternoon hours on Sunday. Rain chances won't last long and won't amount to much.

According to NOAA's NDFD, precipitation amounts on Sunday will be pretty light up to 0.10" or so. A few communities in the southwestern corner of the state could see up to 0.20".

As of Friday, April 7th, the MSP Airport only had a trace of snow on the ground. However, much of central and northern Minnesota still has a pretty significant snowpack. Nearly 2ft to 3ft of snow is on the ground near Lake Superior and more than 3ft on the ground near across parts of the U.P. of Michigan.

According to the National Weather Service, there is still a lot of water locked in the snow pack. SWE stands for Snow Water Equivalent and as you can see in the figure below, several inches of water is locked in the snow pack across much of the state. With much warmer temps in the forecast over the next several days, a lot of water will be entering the river systems with flooding a growing potential over the coming days and weeks.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows a string of 60s and 70s through the week ahead, which will be some of the warmest weather we've seen since October and early November of last fall. Note that on Wednesday, we could see our first 80F reading, which would be the first since October 11th, 2022. Unfortunately, the quick warm up could lead to an increasing flood threat for maybe communities that live by rivers and streams over the coming days and weeks.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Sunday, April 9th will be fairly nice through the first half of the day. Highs will warm to around 60F once again with a slight chance of rain in the afternoon.

Temps across the region on Sunday will warm into the 50s and 60s across much of the state, which will be at or slightly above average for this time of the year. A few spots in far western Minnesota will only warm into the 40s, which will be around -5F below average.

"April 3, 2023 - Spring leaf out continues to spread north, arriving several days to weeks earlier than average (the period of 1991-2020) in much of the Southeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic. The West is a mix of early and late. A slow to the spread of spring in recent days is now visible, with spring leaf out arriving in parts of Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri days to weeks late. Scranton, PA is 4 days early, Hartford, CT is 2 days early. Spring bloom has also arrived in southern states, days to weeks early in the Southeast, and days to over a week late in the Southwest. Redding, CA is 19 days late, Washington, DC is 9 days early. How typical is this year's spring? Darker colors represent springs that are unusually early or late in the long-term record. Gray indicates an average spring. Parts of the Southeast, lower Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and New York City area are seeing either the earliest spring leaf on record or a spring that only occurs once every 40 years (dark green). Parts of Arizona are seeing a spring that only occurs this late once every 40 years (purple). Spring bloom is latest on record across parts of the Southwest including California and Arizona, and earliest on record in parts of the upper Southeast including Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina."

See more from the National Phenology Network HERE:

It'll be a very warm week ahead in the Central US with temps warming to well above average levels. A few light showers will be possible on Sunday, but then we'll remain dry until next weekend when a bigger storm system could move into the Midwest.

Temps will warm into the 60s and 70s over the next few days with the warmest day expected on Wednesday when we could see our first 80F of the year and first since October 11th.

After a few light showers across parts of the region on Sunday, much quieter and warmer weather moves in for the 2nd week of April. Later in the week, a bigger storm system looks to move in, which could bring a chance of rain and thunder to the region once again. Stay tuned...

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows drier/quieter weather settling in across much of the Central US by mid month.

"I still believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and true love. Don't even try to tell me different." Thank you Dolly Parton. May the spirit of Easter and Passover be with you today.

Yesterday was a tonic for the soul. Despite SUV-size snow drifts, temperatures will soar into the 70s from Tuesday into Friday, some 20-30 degrees warmer than average.

Yep, we were overdue for a warm spike. Not sure about you but I am so looking forward to complaining about humidity - whining about washed-out weekend events, bugs, construction zones and forgetting sunscreen. Like the first week of June.

The approach of unseasonable warmth sets off a smear of clouds and a few afternoon rain showers today with highs near 60F in the metro area. Dry weather lingers into Friday with a taste of June: consistent 70s, even an outside shot at 80F by Wednesday. Wow. Rain arrives next weekend as temperatures cool, but I don't heavy rainfall amounts. Spring flooding is likely, the question is how severe? Updates forthcoming.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Winds: SSW 5. Low: 39.

MONDAY: Sunny and pleasant. Winds: W 7-12. High: 67.

TUESDAY: Lukewarm sunshine. Winds: SW 10-20. Wake-up: 46. High: 74.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny, warmth typical for June. Winds: SE 10-20. Wake-up: 58. High 79.

THURSDAY: Blue sky, still close to perfect. Winds: S 10-20. Wake-up: 52. High 77.

SATURDAY: Sunshine fades, late thunder? Winds: N 8-13. Wake-up: 47. High: 59.

April 9th

1931: Severe dust storms are reported in St. Paul.

April 9th

Average High: 54F (Record: 81F set in 1930)

Record Rainfall: 0.75" set in 1919

Record Snowfall: 5.5" set in 1894

April 9th

Sunrise: 6:38am

Sunset: 7:50pm

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: +3 Minutes & 4 Seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 4 hour & 25 minutes

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Sunday will be very mild across the Midwest and Intermountain-West with temps running nearly +5F to +15F above average for some. Meanwhile, folks along the East Coast will be running a little cooler than average for early/mid April with highs nearly -5F to -10F below averge.

The weather outlook on Sunday will be a little quieter in the Southeaster US with the exception of a few lingering t-storms in Florida. We'll also see isolated t-showers across parts of the Central US along a slow moving frontal boundary. Areas of rain and snow will be possible in the Pacific Northwest as well.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier amounts of precipitation across parts of the Southeastern US. We'll also see a little precipitation in the Central US with more heavier precipitation in the Pacific Northwest.

According to the ECMWF (European model), heavy snow will be found across much of the high elevations in the Western US. There could also be a little snow across parts of the Upper Midwest, but nothing major.

"An enormous, circular halo of eerie red light, which looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, recently flashed in the night sky above Italy. The bizarre disk appeared and disappeared within milliseconds, meaning most people likely missed the strange spectacle. But one person, nature photographer Valter Binotto, managed to capture a shot of the luminous halo in the sky above the town of Possagno in northern Italy on March 27. However, the red ring was not actually located above the town. Instead, the massive circle, which was around 224 miles (360 kilometers) in diameter, blinked above central Italy and part of the Adriatic Sea. It was only a forced perspective that made the ring look as if it were hanging above the town."

See more from Live Science HERE:

"THE US IS experiencing devastation from a flurry of tornadoes. At least five people died Wednesday when a tornado tore through southeastern Missouri. It followed six in New Jersey and one in Delaware that killed a person and became the state's widest on record. Batches of tornadoes killed more than 30 people in the South and Midwest over the weekend. And January saw 168 preliminary tornado reports, nearly five times that month's average between 1990 and 2010. It's been a busy and deadly start to tornado season, and the twisters have hit regions typically spared. We know that a warming climate is creating moisture and instability in the air—two factors that spur the formation of tornadoes. But experts caution that it's too soon to link one major event—or even season—to climate change. What they are seeing is changes in when and where the tornadoes strike, which could expose more people to danger."

"Industrialized communities in the Deep South are the most vulnerable in the U.S. to climate change, according to a new index created by the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University that analyzes climate impacts and neighborhood conditions such as poverty and health. Almost all of the most vulnerable communities are located along the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Ala., to Corpus Christi, Texas — a flood- and hurricane-prone region with deep pockets of poverty, poor health and economic and racial inequities. Communities in Memphis, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn., also scored high on the index. "Black communities in the Deep South are in the fight of their lives to protect their community from years of environmental racism, and we need every tool available to showcase what years of pollution look like in our communities," said Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the New Orleans-based Deep South Center for Environmental Justice."

See more from Scientific American HERE: