For much of Minnesota, fall begins sunny and 70+ degrees

NINA MOINI: It's officially the first week of fall. And we couldn't be having a nicer fall, I don't think, than we're having. It's been gorgeous so far. Here with our fall weather update is MPR News chief meteorologist, Paul Huttner. Hi there, Paul.

PAUL HUTTNER: Hey, Nina. Happy August, like, 55th, because it's been so warm for so long.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, that's a good point. I'm starting to just see some leaves turning here in the Twin Cities, very exciting. But I imagine it's already pretty beautiful maybe up North now. How are we doing on our fall colors?

PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, it is starting to change up North, especially. But, Nina, we're running about a week behind our average fall color change so far this year. It's kind of a slow motion change this year. And it's because we've been so warm the past one to two weeks, 10 to 20 degrees warmer than normal. Those leaves need those frosty nights to trigger that brilliant fall color thing. And Northern Minnesota, typically about 50% to 75% of change this week-- right now, it's about 25% to 50%. There are some splashes of color northwest, northeast a little more than that.

But it looks like it'll take another week or so to get to peak vibrant fall colors up North. And that'll put us, of course, into the first parts of October. Twin Cities, as you said, it's still mostly green here. There are splashes of color Southern Minnesota, Twin Cities. But it looks like mid to late October by the time we really start seeing those vibrant colors here. So give it a week or so, and things should be turning a lot prettier out there around Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: Well, that's good news too. If you want to go leaf peeping but you haven't really gotten around to planning when or where to go, you got an extra week.

PAUL HUTTNER: Exactly.

NINA MOINI: So it is pretty warm this week. How, exactly, warm will we get? Do we have a shot at back in the 80s?

PAUL HUTTNER: Oh, we do. In fact, I think we'll get there tomorrow in the Twin Cities and Southern Minnesota and again on Friday. Sunny out there now-- the fog has burned off around most of Minnesota. We're headed for 75 today in the Twin Cities, lots of 70s around Minnesota, 60s near Lake Superior the next few days. You know the story up there, cooler lake water. But 80 tomorrow, 80 Friday, and I think 85 in Southwest Minnesota--

NINA MOINI: Wow.

PAUL HUTTNER: --Friday afternoon. So that's going to be plenty warm. We're back to about 75 Saturday and then close to 80 again Sunday, lots of sunshine, still some morning fog the next few days. But it's going to be absolutely gorgeous, it looks like.

NINA MOINI: Do you have a sense for how long this beautiful weather is going to last into next week, maybe?

PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah. I was just looking at some of the latest model runs. A lot of them come in around this time of day, the midday hour. And it looks like we could be in the 80s or low 80s right through most of next week, like maybe 'til next Thursday--

NINA MOINI: Wow.

PAUL HUTTNER: --in the Twin Cities and Southern Minnesota, so kind of a bonus summer for another week or so. There is a cold front on the maps that following weekend, the first weekend of October, the 4th and the 5th. We could jump back a little then back into the 50s and 60s around Minnesota, maybe some frosty nights. So enjoy this summer weather while it lasts, Nina, because we know it doesn't last forever at this latitude.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, it's summer-like temperatures, right? But we're still kind of losing our daylight in the evenings. I'm noticing, as I'm taking my dog out for an evening walk, it's starting to get dark out. How much daylight are we losing this time of year?

PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, and we really do notice it now this time of year. Since the June solstice, we've lost three and a half hours of daylight. Today, it's 12 hours and three minutes. And we're losing about three minutes a day. That sun intensity today and the angle is about equal to March 20. So yeah, it's a little different out there. I guess it's great that we have this lovely weather, because it kind of makes up for those shorter days.

NINA MOINI: And I did just want to throw a question at you here about rain, Paul. Because this summer, there was just so much rain-- haven't seen much rain this week. Are you forecasting anything in the way of rain?

PAUL HUTTNER: No, it looks very dry for the next week or so. It does look like we could get some rain with that cold front that first weekend of October. But we're running around average normal precip in the Twin Cities this year. It's wetter than average still, western parts of northern and southern Minnesota. But you're right, it's been a dry trend. And I don't see that changing in a big way here for at least the next 7 to 10 days or so.

NINA MOINI: All right. That's good to know. Why don't you fill us in, if you would, Paul, on what is on Climate Cast this week.

PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, fall is our second-fastest warming season in Minnesota. We're going to--

NINA MOINI: Clearly.

PAUL HUTTNER: --talk with Pete Boulay at the Minnesota State Climate office-- he tracks those trends-- talk about why fall is warming along with winter in Minnesota. That's on Climate Cast tomorrow on All Things Considered.

NINA MOINI: All Things Considered from 3:00 to 6:00 here on MPR News. Thanks so much for your time, as always, Paul.

PAUL HUTTNER: Thanks, Nina. Enjoy the sunshine.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. That was MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for us.