An intense area of low pressure will swirl around the Great Lakes this weekend sending waves of showers through Minnesota and Wisconsin. The heaviest precipitation will set up through Wisconsin and into the UP of Michigan with areas of snowfall possible there. There will also be some snow chances across the Arrowhead of Minnesota this weekend as well. For the Twin Cities, total precipitation amounts will overall be light, but cool, gray and showery conditions won't be favorable for many with outdoor plans.

Here's the total liquid precipitation potential through AM Monday. Note that the heaviest amounts will be across northern Wisconsin, the UP of Michigan and the Arrowhead of Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Twin Cities could pick up and additional couple of tenths of an inch of liquid through the weekend.

Areas of wet snow will be possible farther north and east of the Twin Cities with some shovelable amounts possible across far northern Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan. There could also be a slushy coating across the Arrowhead.

According to the MN DNR, Lake Minnetonka is officially ICE OUT!! It happened on Wednesday, April 19th, which is a just about a week later than average. The earliest ice out was on March 11th, 1878, while the latest ice out was on May 5th, 2018. Ice outs will continue to creep north over the next several days and weeks. Many of the larger lakes in central and northern Minnesota have yet to go ice out, but it won't be long now...

See more from the MN DNR ice out page HERE:

According to the National Weather Service, out of 160 river gauges on the map below, 40 are currently in flood stage and still could be over the next several days. The good news is that many rivers have crested close to home with river levels dropping through the weekend and into early next week.

Here's the river forecast for the St. Croix River at Stillwater. Major flooding has ended after reaching a crest of 89.26ft earlier this week, which is the 7th highest crest on record there. We'll still be dealing with minor flooding through the weekend and most of next week, but the worst appears to be over for this spring.

The Mississippi River at St. Paul will still be dealing with Major flooding through the weekend, but it appears the crest of 18.24ft earlier this week will be the high point of this spring season. That mark is the 11th highest on record. As we head into next week, we'll still be dealing with moderate and minor flooding, but water levels will be receding.

"April 24, 2023 - Spring leaf out continues to spread north. Spring arrived several days to weeks earlier than average (the period of 1991-2020) in much of the Southeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic, then slowed across the northern Great Plains and lower Midwest. In the past week, spring has moved further into the Western US, arriving days to weeks later than usual. Billings MT is 18 days late, Spokane WA is 12 days late, and Bend OR is 24 days late. 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. Spring bloom has also arrived 2 weeks late in the Seattle area, and 5 days early in Pittsburgh, PA. 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 the West 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:

Snowfall amounts are quite impressive across the region with several locations running well above average. Duluth has seen nearly 140" of snow, which is the snowiest season on record! The Twin Cities has seen more than 90" of snow, which is the 3rd snowiest season on record. Interestingly, Bismarck North Dakota is only 0.5" away from being the snowiest season on record as well! Most climate sites around the Midwest are well above average for snowfall this season with a surplus of more than 50" in Duluth and Bismarck. The Twin Cities is nearly 40" above average this season as well.

As of Saturday, the NWS in Duluth had seen nearly 140" of snow, which is the snowiest season on record. This beats the previous record of 135.4" set during the winter of 1995-96. Interestingly, 1996 was the last year that Lake Superior completely froze over. Note that there have only been 19 seasons on record that have recorded 100" or more in Duluth.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows lingering cooler temps through the weekend ahead with readings only warming into the 40s and 50s. Next week looks better with a string of 60s, which will be closer to average! We may even get close to 70F a few days into the first half of May. Stay tuned...

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Saturday, April 29th will be a little unsettled through the afternoon hours. Spotty showers and a few thunderstorms will be possible with temps only warm into the upper 40s to near 50F. Not a very nice late April day, considering our average high for this time of the year is in the low/mid 60s.

Temps across the region on Saturday will be nearly -10F to -15F below average with readings only warming into the 40s across much of Minnesota. We'll see scattered showers develop during the day with a clap or two of thunder possible as well.

The hourly temps through the day Saturday shows temps starting around 40F in the morning and warming into the mid/upper 40s by the afternoon. It'll be mainly cloudy with scattered showers developing and perhaps a rumble of thunder. Northwesterly winds will be breezy through the day with gusts approaching 20mph to 25mph later in the day.

A large area of low pressure will swirl around the Great Lakes region this weekend with cold rain and snow showers before moving into the Northeast early next week. The Midwest looks a little quieter into the first full week of May as temperatures gradually warm back to near average levels.

It won't be a very nice weekend with cool, gray and soggy weather conditions in place. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible Saturday with a steady light rain possible on Sunday. Temps will be well below average this weekend as well, but we're seeing improved weather conditions into next week with drier warmer weather on the way!

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows warmer than average weather moving into parts of the Midwest from May 6th to the 12th. Meanwhile, cooler than average weather will be possible in California and the Southeastern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows quieter/drier weather in place from the Midwest to the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. Meanwhile, more active weather will be possible again in the Western US.

The planet is warming. Minnesota's atmosphere is slowly warming over time, with the strongest warming signal coming fall and winter. But springs, specifically April, have cooled over the last decade with more snow.

So says data compiled by Dr. Mark Seeley and Dr. Kenny Blumenfeld, Minnesota's Senior Climatologist. In fact, The springs of 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2022 are among the coldest of the past 50 years, says Dr. Seeley. Dr. Blumenfeld adds: "There has indeed been a tendency to have cool or cold, and often very snowy late-winter/spring periods here in Minnesota." It's not your imagination. Weather weirding, possibly a symptom of rapid arctic warming displacing chilly air farther south. Fluke or trend? Stay tuned.

60s return next week, but it would appear that spring has lost its bounce.

SATURDAY: Damp with PM showers. Winds: NW 10-20. High: 50.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with t-showers. Winds: NNW 15-25. Low: 37.

SUNDAY: Cloudy and gusty. PM showers. Winds: NW 20-40. High: 46.

MONDAY: Partly sunny, stiff breeze. Winds: NW 15-35. Wake-up: 36. High: 54.

WEDNESDAY: Mild sunshine. Late T-shower? Winds: SW 7-12. Wake-up: 41. High 67.

THURSDAY: Cool and unsettled, few showers. Winds: N 15-30. Wake-up: 46. High 57.

FRIDAY: Mix of clouds and sunshine. Winds: NE 10-20. Wake-up: 47. High 62.

April 29th

1984: Late season heavy snow blankets the Twin Cities with 6.6 inches.

April 29th

Average High: 63F (Record: 92F set in 1952)

Average Low: 43F (Record: 22F set in 1958)

Record Rainfall: 1.30" set in 1991

Record Snowfall: 6.6" set in 1984

Sunrise: 6:05am

Sunset: 8:15pm

Hours of Daylight: ~14 hours & 10 minutes

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: +2 Minutes & 46 Seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 5 hour & 24 minutes

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Saturday will be quite a bit cooler than average across the Central US with temps running nearly -10F to -15F below average for late April. Warmer and drier weather will be in place across the Western half of the country with widespread record warmth possible for the Central Valley in California. Record warmth will be possible in the Desert Southwest on Sunday, including Phoenix, AZ with a high reaching 101F.

The weather outlook on Saturday will be more unsettled along and east of the Mississippi River Valley with widespread thunderstorms across the Gulf Coast States. Areas of cool, wet and windy weather will settle across the Great Lakes with areas of snow possible as well.

According to NOAA's SPC, strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible across the Southern and Southeastern US this weekend. Threat greatest risk will be on Saturday across the Panhandle of Florida. Meanwhile, isolated strong to severe storms will be possible in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic States on Sunday.

An intense area of low pressure will develop over the weekend and lift northeast toward the Great Lakes and Northeastern US with areas of heavy rain. Widespread storms will be possible in the Southeastern US, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall. Cool, wet and windy weather will develop in the Great Lakes region with areas of slushy snow accumulations possible.

According to the ECMWF (European model), snowfall accumulations will be possible across parts of the Great Lakes this weekend. We'll also see another surge of snowfall potential in the high elevations in the Western US, including the Sierra Nevada Range next week.

"The Climate Funders Justice Pledge (CFJP) has mobilized $120 million in funding from major climate donors, the group tells Axios. Why it matters: The new milestone demonstrates the growing recognition that minorities and low-income residents tend to suffer the most from climate change, including extreme weather events such as heat waves and flash floods. It also signals growing momentum behind climate justice as a pillar of work in the climate space among major donors. Background: The effort was launched by the Donors of Color Network two years ago to help steer more resources toward groups run by, and focused on, communities of color. In addition to the funding, two major climate philanthropies — the Kresge Foundation and Pisces Foundation — have now exceeded the pledge's target to devote at least 30% of their climate funding to such groups."

See more from Axios HERE:

"Forecast Advisor might be the best-kept secret in the weather business. It's a website, run by a company called Intellovations, that compares the accuracy of a dozen of the largest weather forecasters. You put in your ZIP code (it only works in the US), and it spits back a ranking of the services based on how correctly they predicted the weather over the last month and the last year. You might be shocked at how different the various sources are and how bad some of them are at predicting the weather. Depending on which weather app you use, this is extremely actionable information. Many third-party weather apps allow you to switch between data sources, so you can pick the one that's most accurate near you — AccuWeather, in my case — and enjoy an immediately more useful weather system."

See more from The Verge HERE:

See more from Bloomberg HERE: