By DJ Kayser, filling in for Douglas:
Play ball! Happy Opening Day for those who celebrate. The Twins start the season in St. Louis, where thunderstorms could try to ruin the party with first pitch temperatures in the mid-70s.
Back home, we’ll see a warming trend through the end of the week, with a few 80s in southern Minnesota possible on Friday. Since 2000, MSP averages three 60-plus-degree days and one 70-plus-degree day in March. This month, we’ve already had five 60-plus-degree days and one 70-plus-degree day.
Expect a messy weekend, with rain starting Friday night but changing to ice and snow late Saturday through Sunday morning as colder air moves in. A heavy band of snow could fall somewhere close to home, something that’ll come into better focus as we get closer.
A reminder that it is dry out there. The Minnesota Incident Command System posted on social media Tuesday that 60 wildfires and 1,243 acres have burned across the state since March 18. Since the beginning of the year, 2,661 acres have burned in 160 wildfires. The Drought Monitor reports that 94.2% of the state is at least abnormally dry.
