Cottage Grove, Minnesota 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

739
FXUS63 KMPX 041146
AFDMPX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
646 AM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Cooler temperature through Monday, with warmer temperatures
  arriving mid to late week.

- A drier pattern settles in for the foreseeable future.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 252 AM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

A cooler start to the day with temperatures below freezing
across much of the area. A combination of light winds and
mostly clear skies has led to areas of patchy fog where there
was lingering snow pack, western & central Minnesota, that`ll
dissipate shortly after sunrise. Winds will turn to the
south/southeast and ramp up to 5-10 mph. Cool, mostly cloudy
conditions prevail today with highs ranging from the upper 30s
where snow lingers, to upper 40s & low 50s across southern
Minnesota & western Wisconsin. A weak cold front will bring
scattered rain & snow chances late this afternoon through
tonight. The best chance for sensible precipitation will be
western Minnesota with Chances decreasing further eastward. Weak
WAA will not be enough to deliver much QPF. Guidance QPF is
looking light with amounts generally under a tenth (0.10"). This
will translate to a dusting of wet slushy snow to a half inch
for W/C MN. The Twin Cities metro will likely see little if any
sensible rain or snow from this system.

High pressure builds in behind the front for the weekend,
ushering is drier conditions and the return of sunshine by
Saturday afternoon. The post FROPA airmass will keep
temperatures below early April normals, with highs ranging from
the low to mid 40s each day. Northwesterly winds will add
additional insult to injury as our wind chill temperatures dip
into the 30s. Lows will dip into the upper teens to mid 20s
through Sunday night. A quick moving shortwave will arrive
Sunday night into Monday morning. This shortwave will brush our
eastern CWA (W WI) and may cause some light snow & flurries. The
first half of next week will remain cooler than mid-April
normals, but a warming trend ramps up mid-week into the end of
next week. Highs will return to the mid to upper 50s with some
locations in the lower 60s. What`s driving this warm up? We`ll
see the northwesterly flow aloft turn more zonal or even
southwesterly. This won`t lead to record highs, but a nice
stretch of 50s and 60s is always welcome this time of year.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 618 AM CDT Fri Apr 4 2025

Mainly VFR conditions to start ahead of a cold front due to move
across the Upper Midwest late this afternoon through this
evening. Ceilings will drop into MVFR range mid to late
afternoon ahead of a weakening precipitation shield which will
mainly impact western then northern MN. Precip in western MN
will start out as -RA then mix with/change to -SN before ending,
little to no impacts are expected and only a trace of -SN is
expected. For southern-eastern MN into western WI, p-type will
remain as -RA with only very light/intermittent showers.
However, ceilings may dip into the IFR range for short periods
within the prevailing MVFR duration. Conditions are expected to
return to VFR overnight through late Saturday morning from west
to east. Winds will generally run light/variable through late
morning then become prevailing NW with the frontal passage.

KMSP...Main window of precipitation will be late this evening
into the early morning hours, and primarily -RA at that. Could
see a few snowflakes before the precipitation diminishes. MVFR
ceilings likely this evening through the overnight hours,
returning to VFR just before sunrise Saturday morning.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/
SUN...VFR. Wind NW 10-15 kts.
MON...VFR. Wind N 10-15 kts.
TUE...VFR. Wind SE 5-10 kts.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...None.
WI...None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...BPH
AVIATION...JPC