Drier, Sunnier Sunday - Quite Warm And Windy Weather Awaits Monday

A sunnier, and slightly warmer, Sunday is expected in the Twin Cities. Morning lows will start off around freezing, with highs climbing into the low and mid-50s. Northwest winds will be around 5-10 mph.

A pretty nice day is expected across the state, with fairly sunny skies and highs up to 10F degrees above average. Not a bad end to the weekend at all, especially after the rainy (and, in northern Minnesota, snowy) Saturday.

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Monday looks to be the warmest day so far in 2021 with highs climbing into the low 70s in the Twin Cities. The last time we had a high in the 70s in the Twin Cities was back on November 8th - the weekend of the Minnesota Deer Opener - when the high reached 72F. Winds off of Lake Superior will keep areas of the North Shore and Arrowhead in the 40s and 50s, but most areas of the state will climb into the 60s and 70s.

Just like most of our warm days so far this Spring, strong southerly winds will help push highs to the warmest they've been this year. Across portions of southern Minnesota, wind gusts over 40 mph will be possible. This will likely lead to an increased fire danger.

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Enjoy the high on Monday, as temperatures afterward once again take another dip downward. Highs on Wednesday (the last day of March) may not even make it out of the 30s - a good 10F degrees below average. Temperatures do start to climb once again as we head toward Easter weekend, with highs in the 50s and 60s expected. I won't blame you if you get a little bit of weather whiplash this week in the temperature department. The only chance of precipitation from Sunday through the work week will be a few showers Monday Night/early Tuesday as that blast of cooler air starts to work on in.

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Weather Maps Looking Increasingly Springy
By Paul Douglas

"Regret looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up wrote John Mason, an English minister who lived in the late 1600s. I acknowledge science, but have faith in something more.

I got my first (Pfizer) vaccine on Thursday, and I will never take pharmaceutical companies or frontline healthcare workers for granted again. The mood? Celebratory. Christmas with a "jab".

I'm grateful for many things, including a premature spring fling in the coming weeks. The best shot at 70F comes tomorrow, along with an eye-watering wind gusting to 35 mph at times. We cool off midweek, followed by another wave of relative warmth later next week. Daytime highs may reach 60F next weekend, with a slight thunder risk one week from today.

A Goldilocks Spring? No significant river flooding is predicted. Too dry for severe storms. Late April slush can't be entirely ruled out, but a mild, Pacific-flavored breeze hangs on into mid-April.

Welcome to the Great In-Between. Winter is fading. Summer beckons. Quiet and bug-free.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SUNDAY: Cool sunshine, breezy. Wake up 30. High 47. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

MONDAY: Lukewarm sunshine. Work optional. Wake up 42. High 70. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 20-35 mph.

TUESDAY: Some sun, windy and cooler. Wake up 36. High 43. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind W 15-30 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Chilled sunshine. Jackets return. Wake up 26. High 36. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

THURSDAY: Sunny and seasonably cool. Wake up 24. High 48. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Blue sky, turning milder. Wake up 31. High 58. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY: Plenty of sunshine, pleasant. Wake up 43. High 60. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

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This Day in Weather History
March 28th

1924: A drought is broken with style in southern Minnesota as up to 25 inches of snow falls.

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Average Temperatures & Precipitation for Minneapolis
March 28th

Average High: 48F (Record: 78F set in 1946)
Average Low: 29F (Record: -1F set in 1923)
Average Precipitation: 0.06" (Record: 1.08" set in 1896)
Average Snowfall: 0.3" (Record: 6.5" in 1894)
Record Snow Depth: 22" in 1965

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Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
March 28th

Sunrise: 7:00 AM
Sunset: 7:36 PM

*Length Of Day: 12 hours, 35 minutes and 35 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: ~3 minutes and 8 seconds

*When Do We Climb To 13 Hours Of Daylight? April 5th (13 hours, 0 minutes, and 32 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 6:30 AM?: April 14th (6:29 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/After 8:00 PM?: April 16th (8:00 PM)

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On Sunday, a system working through the eastern United States will bring the chance of some ice in New England, rain/snow across the Great Lakes into the Northeast, and showers and storms from the Northeast Coast south through the Mid-Atlantic down into the Deep South and Southern Plains. Rain and snow will be possible in the Northwest.

The heaviest rain from Saturday through Monday evening will be across portions of the Tennessee Valley, where at least 3-4" of rain will be possible. The heaviest snow will be in the Cascades, where at least 1-3 feet of snow could fall.

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Grass fires prompt plea from authorities to postpone brush fires in central Minnesota

More from the Star Tribune: "Central Minnesota is seeing grass fires earlier than normal this year — and experts warn recent rain won't be enough to squelch the threat of more fires. The first week of April is traditionally when John Korzeniowski sees wildfires picking up in central Minnesota. But Korzeniowski, of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forestry office in Little Falls, Minn., has already seen 10 in his area this year. "This period between when our snow leaves and things green up is traditionally our busiest fire time here in Minnesota — and we've got a ways to go yet before we hit green-up," Korzeniowski said."

Fire season got started a month early in northern Michigan

More from Interlochen Public Radio: "Fire crews with the state's Department of Natural Resources responded to over 50 fires in recent days, including assisting at a 600-acre blaze near the Manistee National Forest on Monday. It's been a strange beginning to fire season. "This really all started last fall—we went into the winter with a moisture deficit," says Don Klingler, a wildfire expert with Michigan's DNR. Then the state didn't get much snow. "There are some places that are 90 inches of snow below normal," he says."

The University of Michigan divesting from fossil fuels shows that change is here

More from The Guardian: "...But students never gave up pushing for change, and to the university's great credit it kept lines of dialogue open (including with me; I offered my take earlier this year in a meeting with university officials). And this week it announced that it was divesting from fossil fuels – not only that, but it's "committed to achieving net-zero emissions across our entire endowment by 2050; and shifting our natural resources investment focus toward renewable energy investments with an attractive risk-adjusted return profile". The university's regents voted on Thursday afternoon in favor of $140m in "innovative new investments we have been working on related to renewable energy and sustainable energy infrastructure". Taken together, university officials say, "we believe these steps are unprecedented among American higher education institutions.""

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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