Warm Start To The Week With Records Likely Tuesday

Another very nice (and less windy) day of weather starts the work week off on the right note Monday in the Twin Cities. Morning temperatures will only be in the upper 30s, meaning snow piles across the region will continue to melt through the overnight hours Sunday night. Highs will once again reach up to around 60F.

Highs will be far above average across the state Monday, ranging from the 40s in the Arrowhead to the 60s across southern Minnesota. Calm weather is expected with mainly sunny skies in most locations.

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Tuesday will be the warmest day of the next week, with highs in the 60s across southern Minnesota. Some locations could even touch 70F for a high! Across central and southern Minnesota, record highs are likely as the records are relatively "cool" compared with the daily records surrounding it and the rest of the month. In fact, the record Tuesday for the Twin Cities of 61F is tied for the third coolest March record high currently on the books. Here's a look at locations that could see record highs Tuesday and the current record for the day.

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Highs don't appear to be the only records we could break this week across the state, as with the surge of really warm air on Tuesday will come warmer lows as well. Tuesday morning many climate sites across the state could see record warm lows. Right now those look possible at the following locations, which are listed with their respective warm low on record for the day;

Fewer locations could set a record warm low Wednesday, but this time the list does include the Twin Cities:

The pattern changes up a touch heading into mid-week, as we finally get a system to pass through the region that will bring the shot of precipitation with it. It appears rain showers - and maybe even a few thunderstorms - will occur across southern Minnesota Wednesday. During this time we will also have a cold front situated across the state, and on the colder side of that some snow will be possible. Above is what the European model is showing for Wednesday evening. Something to note is that models haven't completely come together around a solid idea of what will exactly happen, so details (especially on the snow) are still up in the air. Check back over the next few days as this system gets closer for more details.

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The mid-week system will bring in some cooler weather as we head into the second half of the week, with highs only in the 40s expected. That's still above average as we head into the middle of March, as our average high finally hits 40F on Saturday. However, after the expected record Tuesday, it will definitely feel different.

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One thing that is needed across the state is moisture. Since the beginning of the year, the Twin Cities is over half an inch below average in the precipitation department, with most climate locations across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest running below average. In many areas, this deficit extends back into the end of 2020.

Warm Start To The Week With Records Likely Tuesday
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

Well, wasn't that just a brilliant early spring weekend! Yes, it was a touch breezy at times, making it feel cooler - but I can already picture those green lawns, budding trees, and spring flowers! We could use some moisture, though. The Twin Cities is almost an inch below average precipitation-wise since the beginning of December.

For now, though, the nice, warm weather continues through the middle of the week with highs in the 50s and 60s for the Twin Cities. The warmest day will be Tuesday with record highs expected across central and southern Minnesota with a few 70s possible! Record warm lows are also possible across the state as we head into both Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

A system mid-week will bring in the threat of rainy (even thundery) weather across southern Minnesota Wednesday, with some snow on the colder side. Where that boundary sets up across the state is still in flux, but at the moment it appears to be north of the metro. Cooler air moves in behind that system, but luckily that only means highs closer to average.

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MONDAY: Mostly sunny and nice. Wake up 39. High 59. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 3-8 mph.

TUESDAY: Breezy. Record high: 61F (1879). Wake up 42. High 65. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Rain southern MN. Snow to the north. Wake up 43. High 50. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind NNE 5-10 mph.

THURSDAY: Calmer with a sun/cloud mix. Wake up 31. High 47. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind WNW 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Sunny skies but cooler. Wake up 26. High 44. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind W 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: A few more clouds filter through. Wake up 27. High 41. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind E 5-10 mph.

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This Day in Weather History
March 8th

2004: A vigorous Alberta Clipper brings an intense snow burst across the Twin Cities from 9:30 am to noon. 2.5 inches fell, with most of it accumulating in an hour at the State Climatology Office on the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus. Numerous crashes were reported across the metro area with I-94 closed at Highway 280 and also at White Bear Avenue. In a rare scene, television programming was interrupted to report on the snow situation. By early afternoon most of the snow had moved into Wisconsin and road conditions rapidly improved.

1892: A blizzard hits Minnesota, with 70 mph winds recorded at Easton. Duluth was hit especially hard with 60 mph winds causing large drifts. Residents were able to walk out of their second story windows.

Average Temperatures & Precipitation for Minneapolis
March 8th

Average High: 37F (Record: 70F set in 20126)
Average Low: 21F (Record: -8F set in 1877)
Average Precipitation: 0.05" (Record: 0.94" set in 1999)
Average Snowfall: 0.4" (Record: 12.5" in 1999)
Record Snow Depth: 24" in 1917

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Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
March 8th

Sunrise: 6:37 AM
Sunset: 6:10 PM

*When Do We Climb To 12 Hours Of Daylight? March 17th (12 hours, 0 minutes, and 55 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 6:30 AM?: March 12th (6:30 AM)
*Latest Sunset Before Daylight Saving Time: March 13th (6:16 PM)

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To begin the new work week, rain and snow is expected from California stretching into the Pacific Northwest eastward into the Northern Plains and Rockies. Some snow showers will fall across New England. Scattered areas of rain are possible in Florida and Texas.

The heaviest rain through Tuesday evening will be across portions of the Pacific Northwest, where up to 3" of rain could fall. The western mountains will be where the heaviest snow will fall - up to a foot or two in some locations,

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More from Ag Alert: ""We need a Miracle March," Kern County almond grower Don Davis says, expressing the concern of many farmers as California drops deeper into drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor said last week 85% of the state is experiencing moderate to exceptional drought and, on the same day, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced low initial allocations for customers of its Central Valley Project. The bureau said it had allocated 5% supplies to its agricultural service contractors both north and south of the delta."

Swarm of 20,000 earthquakes could make Iceland's volcanoes erupt

More from LiveScience: "More than 20,000 earthquakes have shaken southern Iceland this week, rattling the capital city of Reykjavik and keeping geologists on their toes as all signs point to a pending volcanic eruption, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) reported on Thursday (March 4). This week's marathon of quakes continues a swarm of seismic activity that began on Feb. 24, when a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula — about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the capital city."

One of The Nation's Largest Pipelines Caused The Biggest Spill in Decades–And We're Just Hearing About It

More from Earther: "Unless you're living in Huntersville, North Carolina, you may be blissfully unaware that the U.S.'s biggest gasoline spill since 1997 happened this past summer. The slowly-unfolding, little-reported-on saga in the state involves a company controlled by special interests like the Koch brothers and Shell, and a pipeline that has been transporting dirty energy for decades. And the crisis of the Colonial pipeline points to one of the next big issues for American fossil fuel infrastructure: what to do about dangerous, aging pipelines as we move to clean energy."

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