Stronger wind to finish the week, turning chilly Saturday

Overall, the trend of above average temperatures is going to continue for awhile, but there will be a dose of colder air moving in for the start of the weekend. For the next couple days, winds will be noticeably stronger, turning especially gusty Friday.

We’re wrapping up Wednesday on a mild note as temperatures have once again been around 50 degrees across southern Minnesota and north Iowa. Lows Thursday morning will briefly dip down to the freezing mark. Temperatures will slowly climb back to the mid-40s Thursday afternoon along with a gusty wind.

Skies will be mostly cloudy to start Thursday with a gradual decrease in cloud cover Thursday afternoon. Wind gusts will be near 35 mph.

Winds become even stronger Friday as an area of low pressure spins through the Great Lakes. Look for wind gusts in the range of 45-50 mph Friday morning through at least the early afternoon before they gradually decrease late Friday.

Colder air will be moving into the region late Friday into Saturday morning and temperatures will be more typical for the end of February and start of March. Highs will stay in the upper 20s to lower 30s Saturday and overnight lows both Saturday morning and Sunday morning will dip into the teens.

A storm system looks to deliver rain next Tuesday and rain turning to snow on Wednesday. There are uncertainties with a system that far out, but there is potential of minor snow accumulations Wednesday.