A breezy Sunday, with some sunshine; Warmer temps to start the week
Snowflakes possible north and west on Friday
It was great to wake up to Sunday morning sunshine! We really haven’t seen much sunshine since last Monday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon highs will reach the 50s in much of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, with some lower 60s possible in the metro area, far southern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.
Many areas will reach the 60s Monday afternoon, with 50s in far northern Minnesota:
Most locations will top out in the 60s on Tuesday:
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Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 60s Wednesday, followed by mid 60s on Thursday. Friday looks chilly, with highs in the 40s..
Rain chances
The northern third of Minnesota, plus northwestern Wisconsin, will have the best chance of scattered showers this Sunday. A passing shower will also be possible in central Minnesota, the Twin Cities metro area and west-central Wisconsin later Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening.
Monday and Tuesday look dry, then rain moves back into Minnesota as we go through Wednesday and Wednesday evening. Thursday look wet, and far northwestern Minnesota could see some snowflakes or a rain/snow mix Thursday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System (GFS) model shows the potential precipitation pattern Wednesday through Thursday:
One forecast model shows accumulating snow in parts of northern and western Minnesota on Friday, with some flakes mixed with rain showers in the Twin Cities. Check updated forecasts as we get closer to Friday.
Fall color update
Leaf peepers won’t have to travel very far (or at all) to see some great fall colors today. Here’s the latest fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:
Keep in mind that the fall color report includes all deciduous trees, not just maples. A Wisconsin fall color report is also available.
Closing in on the precipitation record
The Saturday rainfall total at MSP airport was 1.05 inches, which brought our 2019 Twin Cities precipitation total (rain plus the water content of snow) to 37.12 inches:
We are running 11.38 inches wetter than normal in the Twin Cities through this point of the year. With almost three months left to go in 2019, we’re only 3.03 inches shy of our wettest calendar year in the Twin Cities, which was 40.15 inches in 1911.
By the way, St. Cloud and Rochester set new October 5 rainfall records on Saturday. St. Cloud had 1.21 inches of rain, Rochester reported 1.38 inches of rain.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.