Paul Douglas Weather Column: Not As Soggy Sunday

Todd's Conservation Minnesota Outlook for the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota:

SUNDAY: More clouds than sun, passing shower or sprinkle? Winds: NW 10-15. High: 56

SUNDAY NIGHT: Clouds finally thin out, cool. Winds: Becoming calm. Low: 39

MONDAY: Mostly sunny and warmer. High: 65

TUESDAY: Mild April day. Front blows through late, could see a passing shower or storm. Low: 46. High: 74

WEDNESDAY: Cooler breeze, more PM sunshine. Low: 49. High: 63

THURSDAY: Plenty of sun, slightly above average temps. Low: 40. High: 58

FRIDAY: Sunny start, late day clouds filter sun. Low: 39. High: 60

SATURDAY: Cloudier with a chance of a shower or storm. Low: 43. High 60

Arizona Sunset

Thanks to my good friend, Rich Koivisto, for the picture below. He's a snowbird from Duluth, MN who winters near Bullhead City, AZ and is STILL down there even though the calendar says Spring. Good thing because northern Minnesota saw snow AGAIN yesterday!

Northern Minnesota Snow

Thanks to Tami Sallis for the pictures from Hibbing, MN of the snow on Saturday... UGH!

Snow Reports

This is a look at how much snow was reported across NE Minnesota.

Cold Air Funnels/Tornadoes

The same storm system brought cold air funnels/tornadoes to western Minnesota Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to Jerrid Sebesta for the picture below from western MN of a cold air funnel/tornado.

Saturday Storm Reports

These are the storm reports from Saturday

Storm Reports

This is a list of storm reports relayed to the Storm Prediction Center on Saturday

Long Drive From ND

I happened to be driving through these storms as they made their way through central MN... On my way home from Williston, ND. We missed out on all the crazy stuff, but caught up with the heavy rain in St. Cloud. We came across some small hail piles on I-94 near Alexandria

Williston, ND Virga Sunset

The same storm system brought us rain on Friday while we were in the northwestern reaches of North Dakota (oil country) for a funeral. I snapped this picture Friday evening at the tail end of the event using Instagram.

North Dakota Oil Boom

This was the first time we have been back to see family in the area since April of 2011. In the many years that I have been visiting the area, I have never seen it as busy/dirty/muddy as it was now. I was actually blown away. The oil boom has certainly taken over the area! My car now has a brown muddy paint job, which hasn't come off in the 2 car washes I've given it since I got home. It's a different world out there and it's busier than ever! Apparently the boom started around 2007... and according to some of the experts, if you compared this to a baseball game, we're still in the 1st inning! There's a enough oil out there to last many years! The picture below is from one of the roadside oil pumps that is burning the propane/butane gas that also comes up along with the oil. It really is something to drive hwy 2 from Minot to Williston, ND when it's dark... there are fires like this burning ALL OVER! it is something to see, but WATCH OUT FOR TRUCKS!