Spring the way it was probably meant to be

(75-hour precipitation forecast for the Upper Midwest from coolwx.com. The model hints at a few flurries for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, with an inch or so of slush for Ontario, Canada. There is a wealth of great information on this site. Click here for more weather data).

Weather Headlines

* Temperatures peak in the upper 50s in the St. Cloud area, a couple degrees below average.
* Instability lingers: resulting in considerable PM clouds, gusty winds topping 25 mph, choppy on area lakes!
* Lingering instability may whip up more PM clouds Saturday, a passing shower or sprinkle north of Little Falls.
* Sunday: nicer day with bright sun and light winds, highs recover into the mid 60s.
* Dry Monday, some (overly optimistic bank thermometers) may flash 70 by late afternoon!
* Good chance of showers/T-storms Tuesday, again Thursday & Friday.
* Fishing Opener for Walleye/Northern, Saturday, May 9. Wet, gray start should give way to clearing skies, rising barometer, highs in the 50s (north) to low 60s (central MN).

Paul's Outlook

Today: Mostly cloudy, windy, a shower or sprinkle possible from Brainerd to the Duluth area. Winds: West 10-20, gusts to 25 mph. High: 59

Saturday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low: 43

Sunday: Even nicer and milder with bright sun and light winds. High: 65

Monday: Plenty of lukewarm sun. High: near 70

Tuesday: Clouds increase, few PM T-storms rumble into town. High: 71

Wednesday: Damp start, then gradual clearing. High: 67

Thursday: Another round of showers, possible thunder. High: 68

Friday: Unsettled, a few lingering showers. High: 67

Saturday (May 9 Fishing Opener). Cloudy, damp start giving way to a partly sunny afternoon. High: 65

Sunday: Sunny start, clouds increase, showers/T-showers possible by late afternoon. High: 68

Paul's Column

I'm sitting here, counting my blessings. A year ago I was pretty despondent, after having just gotten the (bad) news from CBS, wondering what on Earth I was going to do with the rest of my life, the rest of my career. Retirement wasn't an option: my wife made that PERFECTLY clear. That old adage: "when God shuts a door he opens a window" rings true. I'm happy to report that there is life after local television. I had been day-dreaming about starting another weather company for 27 years, an outsourcing venture that would produce high-quality weather reports with a small staff of sharp, enthusiastic, dedicated meteorologists, transmitting them out to TV stations, web sites and cable companies nationwide from a central location. I tried to do this back in the early 80s, but it would have relied on expensive satellite uplinks and transponder time, costing well in excess of $7 million to pull off. But now, with high-speed Internet bandwidth, it could be done for a fraction of that amount. The need for weather (and climate) information was as high as ever, TV stations were cutting costs (don't I know that) and there had to be a more efficient, economical model for getting weather content out to consumers. At the same time the you-know-what was hitting the fan in downtown Minneapolis I just happened to wander into an office building in Excelsior, looking for space for my new brainstorm. I talked to the owner of the building, who asked me a laundry-list of questions, trying to figure out if I could pay the rent. The more I told him of my 2 business ideas (WeatherNation, and Singular Logic, our attempt to reinvent advertising by allowing you to choose the categories of ads you're willing to watch) the more interested he became. Today he's my business partner and one of my best buddies. This never EVER would have happened had I not gotten a kick in the Doppler a little over a year ago. Now business is booming, we're adding our 7th meteorologist to the team and the future looks bright, thanks to visionary companies like the SC Times, willing to take a calculated risk on WeatherNation and our mission to take weather to the next level. I can't give you all the details, but trust me when I tell you that what you see on these pages is only the beginning. We have some amazing capabilities in the development pipeline, stuff that will make watching TV (watching a dumb box) about as interesting as watching your toaster. Not sure there's a moral to the story here, other than the fact that many of us are being forced to reinvent our lives, in many cases against our will. I feel for everyone who has lost a job and is currently looking for work. Yes, the economy is lousy, but there has never been a better time to take the plunge and start your own business. If it's something you love, something you're truly passionate about, it won't seem like "work". As I've been telling 4th graders ever since my first school talks at KARE-11 back in 1983, see if you can turn your hobby into a job; get someone to PAY YOU to do something you'd probably do for free. If you love it, chances are you'll be good at it. If you're good at it, the money will come. If you just set out to make money there's a high probability you'll be miserable. It has to be in the right order. But now, with the Internet, a destructive and creative force the likes of which the business world has never seen, it's possible to launch a worldwide company from your guest bedroom, sitting in your underwear. You don't need stacks of cash or an impressive family name. What you do need is a vision, great people who share your goals, and sheer tenacity; an almost naive sense of optimism. Starting a new company you find yourself walking a narrow line between insanity and brilliance - sort of depends on the day. To anyone considering taking the plunge I say good luck. Go for it. There has never, ever been a better time to turn your dream into a profitable reality.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, the weather. If you liked Friday there's a 73% probability you'll enjoy Saturday, and a 99% chance you'll love Sunday. A lingering pool of chilly air aloft may set off a few PM clouds Saturday, and a few of those clouds may puff up into bloated stratocumulus clouds, capable of a 10 minute shower or sprinkle, especially north of Little Falls , toward Brainerd, Bemidji, Grand Rapids and Duluth. The sunniest, driest weather statewide should come during the morning hours, when the atmosphere is still stable.

Sunday looks phenomenal, like something out of a postcard, with bright sun, less wind, and highs in the mid 60s, close to average for early May. You will NOT want to spend too much time indoors on Sunday. A southeasterly breeze tugs the mercury close to 70 on Monday, and an advancing cool front will push a line of showers and possible T-storms into town Tuesday. We dry out (temporarily) Wednesday, before the next front shoves more showery rain into the area Thursday and Friday.

Rumor has it the Fishing Opener (walleye and northern) kicks off on Saturday, May 9. Right now it appears that we may get off to a damp, gray, soggy start, but any rain should quickly taper early in the morning with enough dry air wafting into Minnesota for some PM sun, highs ranging from the 50s north to the 60s south. The Governor should see about 65 degrees on White Bear Lake with a rising barometer and a healthy walleye chop - not quite idea conditions for catching a trophy lunker, but who knows? We've certainly seen worse, that's for sure. I remember years with flurries and wind chill for the Fishing Opener. Not this year. We'll keep fine-tuning that all-important Fishing Opener Outlook because we all know that storms, given a choice, PREFER to come on holidays, weekends, and the Fishing Opener. What can possibly go wrong?