Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Spring Park, MN

DISCUSSION
Issued at 252 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025

Gusty northwest winds are in place and drier air is advecting in this afternoon which has allowed clouds to clear out across much of Minnesota. Extensive stratus and areas of drizzle continue across Wisconsin, although visibilities have improved in the last hour which implies the drizzle is ending. Scattered altocu across western MN are producing some echos on radar, but so far there hasn't been rain reported at any of the METARs, so suspect the dry air is winning.

High pressure will build southeast through Saturday while an active front remains stationary across the Ohio and mid Mississippi Valley. Light winds, clear skies, mild temperatures and low humidity should make for a nice start to the weekend.
However, the trough over the southwestern U.S. will reload late Saturday and a new low pressure system will eject northeast late Saturday night and Sunday. This will push the stationary front and a large pool of moisture back north toward the Upper Midwest Sunday night. Widespread rain will engulf southern/eastern MN and WI before moving out early Monday. There remains some modest variability with the track, but it's appearing likely western MN should largely be missed with the shield of rain.

A secondary trough over the northern Rockies will advance east quickly. By Monday night, the next chance for showers will arrive. This system won't be as well organized and much of the stronger forcing will bypass us to the north. Medium PoPs continue into Tuesday evening. Precipitation totals will remain light - less than a tenth of an inch.

The rest of the period will be characterized by a shallow trough over the West Coast, southwest flow over the Rockies, and zonal flow across the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. Another disturbance over the Plains may bring the 3rd chance for showers, possibly accompanied by some storms, by late week.
There remains a lot of inconsistency with the handling of this feature, and that could continue for another few days with little steering in the synoptic flow.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/
Issued at 1221 PM CDT Fri Apr 18 2025

MVFR/IFR conditions across WI will continue for much of the day, then improvement expected this evening. Otherwise, VFR conditions through the period with gusty northwest winds easing this evening.

KMSP...No additional concerns.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ SUN...VFR early. MVFR/-SHRA likely late. Wind SE 10-20 kts.
MON...Chance MVFR/-SHRA early. VFR late. Wind N 10-15 kts.
TUE...Chance MVFR/-SHRA. Wind SE 10 kts.

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