April’s other shoe: Blustery now, sun returns later

April's other shoe drops with a thud this week. Our warm April so far hits a major speed bump this week as the weather delivers a clear reminder the calendar still says April in Minnesota.

Welcome to "average" in Minnesota. All to often we get to average in Minnesota by whiplash between extremes.

One week we're all sunshine and San Diego. The next week it looks like the gray tundra in Barrow, Alaska. One foot in hot water, the other in ice water. This week feels like a brisk cold shower from the Canadian Arctic.

Windy too

The colder temps come in with a blustery northwest wind. Wind advisories are flying, with gusts pushing 45 mph in parts of southwestern Minnesota today.

321 AM CDT MON APR 20 2015

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* TIMING...LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 2 PM THROUGH 5 PM.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST SUSTAINED BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH.

* IMPACTS...DRIVING MAY BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES DRIVE ALONG NORTH SOUTH ROADS. UNSECURED LIGHT WEIGHT OUTDOOR ITEMS WILL BE BLOWN AROUND IF NOT SECURED.

The culprit for the abrupt change? A big swirling low pressure center tracking from Lake Superior to James Bay. The swirling low brings snow showers to northern Minnesota through tomorrow. High pressure gradually noses south with more sun by Wednesday.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the week ahead. Gray and blustery today and tomorrow. The sun returns Wednesday through the end of the week, with a gradually warming trend and less wind. Temps dip below freezing at night for a few days this week. We nudge 60s again by Sunday.

Mild April so far

The chilly turnaround is par for the course this month. So far April is running much warmer than average, and way above last April.

• +5.8 degrees  - temps vs. average at MSP Airport through April 19

• +10.6 degrees - temps vs. last April at MSP

Drought still a factor

The weekend rains totaled just .13" at MSP Airport. Rainfall totals varied widely across Minnesota.

• MSP .13"

• Redwood Falls .22"

• International Falls .23"

• Duluth .35"

• Willmar .53"

• Grand Marais .61"

• Rochester .81"

Southeastern Minnesota has picked up 3" to 6" of precipitation in the past month. Most of western Minnesota still lags with under 1" in the past 30 days.

This week looks dry, but milder temps and more showers may return later next week. We need the rain.