St. Cloud, MN Weather Forecast

Coldest Temperatures Since April Will Continue Through Tomorrow

We finally made it out of the low clouds by late yesterday morning (see College of DuPage North America clean infrared satellite loop), but the colder air limited afternoon highs to just above 40 degrees (see yesterday's 3 PM CST NWS WPC North America zoom-in map), the coldest high in St. Cloud so far this November and the coolest since April 6. As the Manitoba-Ontario high has moved closer to us (see latest NWS WPC North America zoom-in map), the winds have calmed, so the clear sky (see rivers and lakes showing in gray on overnight frames of the College of DuPage north central US clean infrared satellite loop) has allowed temperatures to dip into the lower 20's and even some teens not too far to our north (see NWS Aviation Weather Center METAR map). St. Cloud's low so far has been 23 degrees (see NWS: last 72 hours of St. Cloud observations) and could get a few degrees colder, making this morning the chilliest since April 20.

And, where the parade of upper-level lows pushed over the warm waters of the Great Lakes (see College of DuPage North America mid-level water vapor loop), there was already 1-4 inches of snow by yesterday morning. Those snow showers will continue downwind of Lake Superior, so another inch or two could accumulate by midday today.

Today and tomorrow, that high will remain close enough to Minnesota to keep us in the current wave of cool temperatures. Highs today will again be limited to around 40 with lows tonight dropping into the teens over a wider area of central Minnesota. There will be a daytime breeze, but it will be lighter than we had the past two days. Those temperatures will be about 5-8 degrees cooler than average but not even close to record level (highs in the teens, lows in the minus single digits, which requires a snow cover).

Getting on the Mild Side of the Slow-Moving Weather Pattern By Sunday

The slow warming trend will begin tomorrow after the Canadian high pushes to the Ohio Valley (see NWS WPC Days 1/2 to 2 1/2 Short Range Forecast). Highs will return to the lower half of the 40's tomorrow and climb to the upper 40's to perhaps 50 on Sunday. We will remain clear and calm on Saturday night, so lows will still end up in the 20's.

As we head into next week, the North American weather pattern will remain slow-moving. The lows over Ontario and Manitoba will move to the Eastern US and stall. Meanwhile, the strong lows in the eastern Pacific will merely drift into California (see College of DuPage North America mid-level water vapor loop). This will block the progress of the western storm into our area. 

That will allow Minnesota to get into brisk south to southeast winds along the western side of the ground-based high pressure area (see NWS WPC Days 3-7). So, we will see the return of October-like temperatures (highs in the 50's with perhaps a shot at 60) at least during the first half of the week. The winds will persist overnight, so lows should climb into the 30's.

No Precipitation Threat Until Late Next Week (And Maybe Not Much Then)

I've noted that the next chance for significant rainfall would be no earlier than Wednesday in earlier forecasts. However, the latest forecasts now hint that this western storm could stall over the Southern Rockies during the second half of next week. That would only allow weaker lows to move near Minnesota, so the precipitation potential would be less and would cover less of Minnesota. The temperature trend beyond Thursday is uncertain.

The early month rain has eased the drought conditions in much of Minnesota (compare November 10 with September 29 on the US Drought Monitor), although we are still more than 8 inches short of rain since August 2025. But, we won't see much for a while.