A Cool Monday With Slow Warming This Week

As we head into the work week here in the Twin Cities, it'll be a cool day with a mix of sun and clouds. Morning temperatures will start off around 40F, only climbing into the mid-50s for highs.

A very quiet weather day is expected with a mix of sun and clouds across the state. Once again, highs will be mainly in the 40s and 50s - a good 5-15F degrees below average.

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The good news is that we will see some slow warming as we head through the week, with highs back into the 60s as we head toward Tuesday and nearing 70F by late in the week. The first half of the week will be dry, but we could see at least some isolated showers or storms moving in by the end of the week into the Fishing Opener weekend.

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Speaking about the Fishing Opener, I think we will see fairly cloudy skies at the moment with the chance of a few showers at times. Highs will range from the 50s along the North Shore to the low 70s in southern portions of the state.

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Temperature Moderation - Rain Chances Late Week
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

Have you gotten your fair share of spring cleaning done recently? I mention it because today is National Clean Up Your Room Day - just another day to do some decluttering! The weather might have been helping you out, as 22 of the past 39 days have had below average highs. Between April 1st and May 8th, 35 days have been classified as either partly cloudy or cloudy, and the Minnesota State Climatology Office mentioned on social media late last month that it was the 8th cloudiest April 1-27 since 1963 in St. Paul.

The week begins on the cool side today with highs only in the 50s and a mix of sun and clouds. Temperatures slowly moderate through the week, with highs finally around average by the Fishing Opener weekend. Rain chances will move back in late this week into the weekend.

We could definitely use some moisture. Even though only 37% of the state was at least abnormally dry according to the latest Drought Monitor issued last Thursday, most of the state is running below average precipitation-wise over the past 14 days.

D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Filtered sunshine. Wake up 38. High 56. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind N 5-10 mph.

TUESDAY: A few afternoon clouds. Wake up 38. High 62. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind N 3-8 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny start. Clouds increase late. Wake up 42. High 66. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

THURSDAY: More clouds than sun. Wake up 47. High 66. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SW 5-15 mph.

SATURDAY: Scattered showers for Fishing Opener. Wake up 50. High 69. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with a few showers. Wake up 51. High 70. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SE 5-15 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
May 10th

*Length Of Day: 14 hours, 40 minutes and 16 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: ~2 minutes and 27 seconds

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This Day in Weather History
May 10th

1934: 'The Classic Dust Bowl' hits Minnesota. Extensive damage occurs over the region, with near daytime blackout conditions in the Twin Cities and west central Minnesota. Dust drifts cause hazardous travel, especially at Fairmont where drifts up to 6 inches are reported. Damage occurs to personal property due to fine dust sifting inside homes and businesses.

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As a frontal boundary slowly moves across the Mid-Atlantic to the Deep South Monday, showers and storms will be possible with heavy rain in some areas. An area of low pressure moving away from New England will bring some showers to the Northeast. A trough out toward the Rockies will bring rain and higher elevation snow.

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The sun may offer key to predicting El Niño, groundbreaking study finds

More from The Washington Post: "When it comes to long-term hurricane forecasts, tornado predictions in the Plains or prospects for winter rain in California, you'll often hear meteorologists refer to El Niño or La Niña. They're phases in a cycle that starts in the tropics, spreading an influence across the globe and shaping weather both close to home and on different continents. Now there's emerging research to suggest that cosmic rays, or positively charged, high-energy particles from space, might be the mechanism that flips the switch between phases. Cosmic rays come from outside our solar system, but the number and intensity that reach Earth hinge on the magnetic field of the sun."

Hydrogen instead of electrification? Potentials and risks for climate targets

More from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: "Hydrogen-based fuels should primarily be used in sectors such as aviation or industrial processes that cannot be electrified, finds a team of researchers. Producing these fuels is too inefficient, costly and their availability too uncertain, to broadly replace fossil fuels for instance in cars or heating houses. For most sectors, directly using electricity for instance in battery electric cars or heat pumps makes more economic sense. Universally relying on hydrogen-based fuels instead and keeping combustion technologies threatens to lock in a further fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions."

More from Bloomberg: "One of the hardest climate puzzles to solve is how to cut greenhouse gases from airplanes. International travel is essential, but zero-emission flights are decades away. In Europe, where transport accounts for a quarter of emissions, policymakers may have a solution: get people to take the train instead. Countries including France, Germany and Austria are spending billions of euros to remake the continent's aging railway system. Their leaders are hoping to spur a renaissance in international train journeys, especially as the coronavirus pandemic ebbs and travel picks up again. After all, hopping on a train is often more convenient than flying (for one thing, there's no airport security)."

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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