Sunshine, near-record high temps this week

It ain’t over yet!!* Sunshine and above-average temperatures will continue through much of the week. In fact, near-record high temperatures in the low 70s are possible Tuesday and Wednesday. Our next system will roll through late Thursday into Friday, bringing scattered showers and much cooler temperatures for the weekend. That said, highs will still be in the low 50s on Saturday and Sunday. While the scattered showers on Friday and Saturday will likely be fairly light, some of our long-range forecast models hint at the possibility of somewhat heavier rainfall by late weekend into early next week.

Tonight will be clear with overnight low temps falling into the upper 30s to low 40s.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be sunny with highs in the low 70s. That’s almost 20 degrees above average for this time of year. The standing record high for Mankato on both Tuesday and Wednesday is 75 degrees. Depending on how things roll, it is possible that we could get there. The big difference between Tuesday and Wednesday is that Tuesday will not be windy and Wednesday will be very windy with southerly wind gusts from 30 to 40 mph.

Our weather pattern will change behind a powerful cold front that is expected to move through Thursday night into Friday. Highs will drop into the 40s by Friday, with high temperatures rebounding slightly, into the low 50s, for the weekend. And that’s still pretty nice for this time of year.

In addition to much cooler temperatures, scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible as the front passes on Thursday night. Scattered showers will continue to be a possibility, off and on, throughout the weekend. Rainfall amounts are not expected to be significant through most of the weekend. Our longer range models hint at the possibility of more significant rain by late weekend into early next week. I say this with very cautious optimism. At this time, models are very inconsistent, but at least a couple of them are suggesting that we could get measurable rainfall across much of our region. Don’t get your hopes up yet… it’s still more than a week away and a lot can change between now and then. But this is definitely something we will keep a very close eye on, so stay with us for updates as we get closer.

*I know “ain’t” isn’t a word. It’s just a weak attempt at being conversational. It’s Monday and that’s all I got.**

**I know, it should be “have.” See *.