Lots of rain chances the next week or so!

Rain chances currently extend well beyond Sunday in the extended forecast! The chance of rain is with us through early next week, then returning by next weekend!

The reason for the rain chances Saturday night through Tuesday afternoon is a well defined trough of lower pressure currently situated over the Rocky Mountains. This trough will slowly push eastward over the coming days, focusing a strong jet stream right over Iowa and Minnesota through Tuesday morning.

This, along with other factors, will provide the focus for widespread rain at times across southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa. This is not to say that it will be raining all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. There is currently plenty of dry time anticipated between each round of rain, but timing the dry times out is rather difficult.

Model guidance is in agreement that things should quiet down a bit Sunday evening, with on and off chances of showers and even a few thunderstorms through early Monday morning. Any rain Monday morning should come to an end by noon, giving way to a cloudy sky Monday afternoon and evening. Model guidance is also in good agreement that Monday afternoon will be mostly dry across the area.

An area of low pressure pushes northeastward Monday night into early Tuesday morning, providing the forcing for yet another round of widespread rain across the area Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, the best forcing will be pushing east of the Weather First area, bringing the rain chances to an end by Tuesday night.

Clouds stick around through Wednesday, before sunshine returns to the forecast Thursday and Friday of next week. Another potent trough of low pressure is expected to advance eastward across the United States through the end of next week, however. This will likely lead to further rain chances for next weekend across the Weather First area.

Plenty of rain chances in the forecast for sure, but it certainly is much needed across the Weather First area, with most of us under either a moderate or severe drought.