Brilliant Weekend Weather Ahead With 70s And Sunny Skies

For those wanting a quiet and lazy Saturday - the weather is definitely going to deliver that! Mainly sunny skies are expected throughout the day with morning lows in the mid-40s and afternoon highs in the low 70s.

A brilliant and sunny Saturday is expected across the state, with highs in the 60s and 70s! Hopefully, there will be no complaints!

_______________________________________________

Most of central and southern Minnesota will be even warmer on Sunday, with highs reaching the upper 70s in the metro and maybe touching 80F across parts of southern Minnesota. That won't be the case up along the North Shore, though, where a strong easterly lake breeze will help keep temperatures in the 50s and 60s. I can't rule out an isolated shower or storm up in far northeastern Minnesota, either.

_______________________________________________

Even warmer weather moves in as we head into next week for the metro, with a consistent stretch of low to mid-80s expected right into the extended Memorial Day weekend. As we head toward the holiday weekend, though, our shower and storm chances will start to increase - so we'll keep an eye on that as we head through the next several days to see how (and when) your plans may be interrupted.

_______________________________________________

The Minnesota River at Jordan was cresting as we went through Friday and may remain around that level as we head into at least the first half of the weekend before water levels start to decrease. The river should drop below moderate flood stage early Monday and below minor flood stage early Wednesday.

The Mississippi River at St. Paul reached minor flood stage Friday morning and will climb close to (but likely will stay below) moderate flood stage Sunday before water levels start to decline. The Mississippi is expected to drop below minor flood stage Tuesday.

_______________________________________________

Less Smoke - More Weekend Sunshine
By Paul Douglas

I did not have mid-May wildfire smoke on my 2023 Weather Bingo Card. Yes, it's early to be tracking wildfires and hundreds of smoke plumes. Will we be dealing with smoky skies all summer long? There's no way to tell, but as long as prevailing winds are blowing out of Canada, we may see more episodes of smoke and poor air quality.

A warming climate is making El Nino and La Nina phases worse. A new study published in the journal Science finds that the average El Nino costs the global economy around $3.4 trillion.

Winds ease today under a brilliant sun (assuming no smoke plumes pass directly overhead). Mid 70s Sunday give way to highs above 80F much of next week. There may be enough moisture for T-storms by late next week.

Pick your poison: wildfire smoke or hail and tornadoes? Good grief PD.

_______________________________________________

Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SUNDAY: Blue sky, trending milder. Wake up 53. High 77. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Partly sunny and pleasant. Wake up 57. High 79. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: Warm sun, touch of June. Wake up 59. High 82. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SW 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Sticky sunshine. Wake up 60. High 83. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 8-13 mph.

THURSDAY: Hazy sun, more humid. Wake up 62. High 82. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

_______________________________________________

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
May 20th

*Length Of Day: 15 hours, 1 minute, and 45 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 4 seconds

*Most Sunlight In A Day: June 21st (15 hours, 36 minutes, 51 seconds)
*Earliest Sunrises Of The Year: June 13th-17th (5:25 AM)
*Earliest Sunsets Of The Year: June 21st-July 2nd (9:03 PM)
_______________________________________________

This Day in Weather History
May 20th

1876: A tornado touches down near Ft. Ripley.

_______________________________________________

Showers and thunderstorms will be possible across the eastern United States on Saturday with a cold front trying to move in and an area of low pressure off the coast. Showers and storms will also be possible in parts of the western United States, with some snow at the higher elevations of the Colorado Rockies. Smoke from wildfires in Canada could make it to the surface from Montana to the Front Range and even into parts of Texas. Numerous record highs are expected in the Northwest.

Through the weekend, up to around 3" of rain could fall across portions of the Southern Plains and along the East Coast.

Wet weather is expected for the PGA Championship on Saturday in Pittsford, NY. The best chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm will be in the morning and midday hours, with drier weather likely moving in for the afternoon to get some golf in. The good news is that Sunday looks nice and sunny.

Hot summer ahead for much of the U.S.

More from Axios: "The climate outlook for June through August shows a broad swath of the Lower 48 states and Alaska are likely to see a hotter than average summer. Why it matters: Prevailing weather conditions during the summer lead to drought or destructive wildfires. Climate outlooks like this one can help power companies plan for higher electricity demand during heat waves. Context: Because of human-caused climate change, average summer temperatures are on the rise across much of the U.S. For example, this means a hotter than average summer in Phoenix now is far warmer than a hotter than average summer in a typical year during the 1970s."

Warming and Drying Climate Puts Many of the World's Biggest Lakes in Peril

More from Inside Climate News: "Water storage in many of the world's biggest lakes has declined sharply in the last 30 years, according to a new study, with a cumulative drop of about 21.5 gigatons per year, an amount equal to the annual water consumption of the United States. The loss of water in natural lakes can "largely be attributed to climate warming," a team of scientists said as they published research today in Science that analyzed satellite data from 1,980 lakes and reservoirs between 1992 and 2020. When they combined the satellite images with climate data and hydrological models, they found "significant storage declines" in more than half of the bodies of water. The combination of information from different sources also enabled the scientists to determine if the declines are related to climate factors, like increased evaporation and reduced river flows, or other impacts, including water diversions for agriculture or cities. A quarter of the world's population lives in basins where lakes are drying up, they warned."

El Niño could cost the global economy $3 trillion

_______________________________________________

Follow me on:

Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

- D.J. Kayser