If tender vegetation wasn't protected from the expected frost Thursday night into this morning, lakes area gardeners might be mourning the loss of their plants.
The National Weather Service office in Duluth issued a frost advisory Thursday afternoon for much of north-central Minnesota, while the Arrowhead region was slapped with a harsher freeze warning. Cass, Crow Wing, Wadena, Morrison and Mille Lacs counties were included in the frost advisory, while neighboring Aitkin County was in for a deeper freeze, according to the forecast.
The NWS said a combination of clearing skies and calm winds prompted by high pressure building in the atmosphere would allow for temperatures to dip into freezing territory. The advisory was in effect from midnight Thursday through 8 a.m. this morning.
After a rainy week, the forecast calls for the precipitation to resume throughout the weekend. Today is expected to be mostly cloudy before the chance for showers increases to 20 percent tonight. Saturday brings an 80 percent chance of rain with breezy conditions, including gusts as high as 20 mph. Showers are likely into Saturday night, the NWS said in its forecast, and Sunday calls for a 40 percent chance of showers. Temperatures are not expected to top 48 degrees Saturday and 53 degrees Sunday.
Monday looks to be the reprieve from cool and rainy weather, with the forecast predicting mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 65 degrees.
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According to the NWS almanac for the Brainerd area, the average high temperature on May 18 is 68 degrees, with an average minimum at 45 degrees. Just five years ago on the same date, the temperature reached 94 degrees.
