6:30 PM Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Rain is expected to return to the Northland between Thursday and early Friday morning, with some rain potentially starting as early as Wednesday night in parts of northern Minnesota. Rainfall with this system will be significantly lower compared to Monday’s system, and no thunderstorms are anticipated.
Rain is most likely in Duluth Thursday afternoon and night.
NAM 3km model simulated radar forecast valid 7 PM Wednesday to 1 AM Friday.
Observe the blue hues that emerge late Thursday night into early Friday morning in far northeastern Minnesota and far northern Wisconsin, indicating areas where this particular model suggests the possibility of light snow or a rain/snow mix.
Monday’s severe weather event produced nearly a dozen preliminary tornado reports from southern Minnesota to central Wisconsin, with 2 tornado reports in Minnesota, and 8 tornado reports in Wisconsin.
Note: There were no reports of severe weather in northeast Minnesota or northwest Wisconsin on Monday, despite a significant portion of the region under a slight, enhanced, or moderate risk for severe thunderstorms.
Regarding the SPC’s risk levels, I believe they should be reduced to three categories: slight, moderate, or high, then the current levels, which include marginal, slight, enhanced, moderate, and high.
An enhanced risk and a moderate risk are essentially equivalent, whereas a marginal risk, in my view, offers little value.
There were some heavy rainfall totals across northern Minnesota on Monday with nearly 4 inches of rain reported near Sea Gull Lake to over 3 inches of rain near Taconite and Ely, south to Babbitt.
Here’s a look at the last 60 days of precipitation.
And here’s the percentage of normal precipitation over the last 60 days.
Areas in green represent above-normal precipitation, and areas in brown are running below normal.
A significantly amplified weather pattern is expected to develop next week, featuring strong upper-level lows over the southwestern and southeastern United States, along with a strengthening upper-level ridge across the Great Lakes. This configuration is likely to result in several dry days for the Northland next week.
For residents near Lake Superior, the temperature forecast for next week may be misleading. While warmer-than-average temperatures are anticipated across northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, persistent east winds are expected to develop due to high pressure to the north. This will result in significantly cooler temperatures near Lake Superior for much of next week.
Afternoon temperatures in the Northland next week are expected to range from the 60s to the 70s; however, east winds will cause temperatures to drop to the 40s within approximately 10 to 15 miles of Lake Superior.
Thanks for reading!
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