Today: Bright sun, breezy, getting milder. Winds: S 10-20. High: near 60
Monday night: Mostly clear, relatively mild. Low: 45
Tuesday: Blue sky, gusty winds - heightened risk of brush fires. Winds gust to 30. High: 69
Wednesday: May in early March. Plenty of lukewarm sun, hard to concentrate. High: 72
Thursday: Fading sun, still balmy. High: 74
Friday: Mostly cloudy, unsettled, a few hours, even a stray T-shower. High: near 60
Saturday: Damp, gray start, then sunshine returns by afternoon - cooler. High: 59
Sunday: Nicer day of the weekend. Mix of clouds and sun. High: 62

Weather Headlines
* The last few days of March bring May-like conditions to Minnesota, highs reach the 70s by midweek (normal high for today is 47 F).
* So far in March, Twin Cities temperatures running 8 degrees above average; St. Cloud: + 8.6 F, International Falls: + 10 F, Duluth: +11.2 F.
* 3-5" of rain from Philadelphia to New York and Boston, reports of significant flooding across much of the northeast - expect some airport delays.
* 1-3 feet of snow expected for the higher elevations of the Pacific Northwest.
* Australia suffering through "The Big Dry", the worst drought in over a century. Sydney growing by an estimated 1,000 people every week, officials taking emergency measures, building new desalination plants to turn ocean water into drinking water.
* Southern China: worst drought in decades; millions of residents without water - more than 1,000 schools closed.
* Early season heat wave gripping northern India, temperatures as hot as 104 F. reported.

* Northern British Isles expecting near-blizzard conditions by Tuesday as a major winter storm pushes inland. Higher elevations of Scotland and Ireland may see several inches of slush and near white-out conditions.

There will be few complaints about the weather this week. At this rate we can expect a "super-sized" summer, ice coming off area lakes 1-3 weeks ahead of schedule. If we get a good soaking rain (possible next week - the GFS weather model is hinting at .50 to 1" of rain) it will green up virtually overnight. Until then a combination of meteorological factors will trigger a growing risk of brush fires and wild fires. Bright sun, a lack of rain going on nearly 3 weeks, tinder-dry relative humidity and winds gusting as high as 30 mph. by midweek will fan any flames once they get going. I fired up my grill for the first time Sunday (one of the earliest grill-christenings I can remember) - just be extra-careful with discarded matches and cigarette butts in the coming days.

The sun should be out today, Tuesday, Wednesday and much of Thursday, each day warmer than the last. By midweek highs will be topping 70 - 80 is not out of the question somewhere in southern Minnesota by Wednesday or Thursday. Only in Minnesota could you be sweating it out, standing around in shorts, peering out at ice bergs on your favorite lake. Yep, spring comes in a hurry (some years). If you blink, sneeze, turn away for even a second, you may miss it altogether!

An eastbound cool front will increase the chance - the OPPORTUNITY - for a few rain showers Friday, winds turning around to the west, cooling us off into the 50s and low 60s. We can't even rule out a few claps of thunder, although I doubt conditions will be ripe for any strong/severe storms the end of the week. The weekend outlook is still murky and tenuous - but right now the models indicate that Friday's front will keep sailing east, a damp, partly-gray start Saturday giving way to rapid sunshine, Sunday probably the sunnier, milder day of the weekend as winds diminish a bit.
We are due for a "real storm", and models are strongly hinting at a stormier, wetter pattern returning next week - by next Tuesday or Wednesday a significant storm may spin up over the Upper Midwest, pumping moisture from the Gulf of Mexico northward. That could translate into heavier rainfall amounts, maybe some .5 to 1" numbers close to home by the middle of next week, although this far out that is pure speculation. A cooler front arrives by mid April, expect a few days with highs struggling into the 40s and 50s. Snow? Ice? Arctic cold? I don't see it, and with each passing day the odds of a wintry relapse diminish rapidly. I'd keep the jackets handy, but I think you can safely lug the parkas, coats and snow shovels into cold storage. Man, I hope I don't come to regret that last sentence. Just when you think you're in the clear....

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