Showers today, warmest day so far tomorrow?

The free Minnesota weather roller coaster ride we call spring continues this week.

We climb out of the bottom today with another round of scattered rain showers across southern Minnesota. The hilltop arrives tomorrow, when sunshine combines with a warm July-like air mass that could bring the warmest day of the year so far.

Then prepare to throw your arms up in the air and scream as we accelerate downhill Thursday into another batch of (strong?) storms before bottoming out on temps again next weekend.

Here's the progression at the surface. A warm bubble of high pressure Wednesday gives way to another potentially soggy front by late Thursday.

Warmest day of 2015 so far tomorrow?

Sunny skies and briefly dropping dew points combine Wednesday to bring a shot of summer. If everything goes according to forecast, we make a run at mid-80s in the metro and much of Minnesota Wednesday afternoon.

The warmest day so far this year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 84 on April 1. No foolin'. We have a 50/50 shot at reaching or exceeding that number tomorrow.

Here's a closer look at the rest of this short work week.

Cool dry weekend?

Because it's never too early to start thinking about the weekend? The early read is for cool but sunny weather next weekend. The longer term pattern suggests a warming trend next week.

How to dismantle a drought

The overall pattern continues to feature heavy rains in the Midwest and southern Plains. Anywhere from 3 to 10 inches-plus has fallen in the past week from Kansas to Texas. That's how you bust a drought.

The rainy central U.S. pattern continues this week. Here's the next seven days rainfall according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.