Pleasant Labor Day weekend wraps up with thunderstorms in northern MN

Labor Day weekend has looked kindly upon folks with plans for outdoor activities across Minnesota this year. Temperatures and dew points have been quite pleasant. Rain showers have been sparse and confined to the northern parts of the state in need of all the rain they can get.

What was Labor Day like last year?

Going back a year, Labor Day 2020 was not a good day for a picnic. The Twin Cities’ high temperature of just 64 degrees occurred at the very beginning of that day. From there it was all downhill.

Rain arrived and the temperature fell into the low 50s in the afternoon. The official rainfall was a quarter of an inch. To rub it in, the high temperature the next day, Tuesday, Sept. 8, was a record low high temperature for the day of 52.

A Canadian cold front will kick off areas of showers and thunderstorms from northwestern Minnesota east-southeastward Monday evening and overnight. Storms will grow as they spread across mainly northern Minnesota along and north of the I-94 corridor and eventually into northwestern Wisconsin. The Twin Cities will have just a chance of a late-night shower or thunderstorm.

A marginal risk of severe storms has been posted for parts of northern Minnesota from Monday night into early Tuesday in the dark green area shown, mainly from Brainerd north. Any strong or severe storms would most likely occur between about 10 p.m. Monday and 4 a.m. Tuesday.

The wind will get your attention on Tuesday. Cooler Canadian air will blow in from the northwest on winds gusting to 30 to 35 mph. High temperatures will range from the mid-60s around Ely and Isabella in the northeast to the low and mid 70s for most of the state. The Twin Cities should have a high around 75. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely in northeastern Minnesota.

Temperatures will be a bit cooler on Wednesday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will again be likely in the northeast.

Look for slightly cooler-than-normal temperatures again on Thursday.

A brief warming trend will begin on Thursday and take us into the weekend.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible again later this week, mainly across about the northern half of the state.

Rainfall outlook for next week not too dramatic

The prospects for needed rain get a bit iffy the week of Sept. 12-18. The seven-day precipitation probability outlook for next Sunday through the following Saturday, Sept. 18, calls for the likelihood of near-normal rain for Minnesota. But a small shift to the east or west would put us into below-normal or above-normal range, respectively.
• Much of Minnesota see 80s for Labor Day