Some summery days this week; rain may hold off until Thursday
Fall color update for leaf peepers
Highs across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will be in the 70s Monday, with 80s expected in west-central and southwestern Minnesota. Many spots in the Twin Cities region will see highs in the upper 70s. Our average Twin Cities high is 68 degrees this time of year.
Parts of northeastern Minnesota will top out in the 60s.
Tuesday highs will reach the 80s in much of Minnesota, with 70s in the northeast:
Dew points creep upward Tuesday afternoon, reaching the upper 50s in some areas, including the Twin Cities:
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid-80s on Wednesday, then around 80 degrees on Thursday and mid 70s on Friday. Highs next weekend will be around 70, which is still a bit above average.
Temperatures may stay above average next week. The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center shows a strong tendency for above-normal temps in Minnesota and Wisconsin from Oct. 4 through Oct. 10:
Next rain chance?
Far western Minnesota could see some scattered showers late Wednesday afternoon or Wednesday evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern for Wednesday afternoon and evening:
The approaching low-pressure system will spread rain chances eastward on Thursday and Friday. The Twin Cities metro area may stay dry until Thursday afternoon or Thursday evening, with a lingering shower chance into Friday and Friday night.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Fall color update
Our peak fall colors don’t typically arrive in the Twin Cities metro area until sometime in October. The percentage of changeover to fall colors is highest in northern Minnesota right now. Here’s the latest fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
Keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included in the fall color report, not just maples. Wisconsin fall color info can be found here.
My wife and I visited the North Shore of Lake Superior last week. There were many areas along the North Shore that had great fall colors, and a few spots where many of the leaves had already fallen.
The Wednesday view from the north side of Oberg Mountain in Superior National Forest looked like this:
A closer look at fall colors, from the south side of Oberg Mountain:
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.