Weekend forecast: Temps recover, breezes pick up

Updated fall color report for leaf-peepers

Maples turning colors
Maples in the high elevations inland from Lake Superior near Two Harbors, Minn., are starting to turn colors on Wednesday.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News file

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 70 degrees on Sept. 19. We’re expecting the metro area highs in the upper 60s this Saturday.

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Saturday highs in the 60s, with some 70s in southwestern Minnesota:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Winds pick up a bit Saturday afternoon, with gusts of 15-25 mph:

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Saturday 1 p.m. forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Plotted values are in knots, with 16 knots equal to around 18 mph and 20 knots equal to 23 mph. Sunday will also be breezy.

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Sunday highs reach the 70s in most of Minnesota, with parts of western Wisconsin touching 70 degrees:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Northeastern Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 60s.

Mostly dry

Saturday looks dry. Scattered showers could move into western Minnesota Sunday afternoon, then spread into portions of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night. Any showers in the Twin Cities metro area will probably hold off until after sunset on Sunday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System (GFS) model shows the potential rain pattern Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening:

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Simulated radar Sunday afternoon and evening
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Fall colors

We’re seeing spotty fall color in the Twin Cities metro area, but our peak fall colors don’t typically arrive in the metro area until sometime in October.

Fall colors are popping in parts of northern Minnesota. Here’s the latest fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

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Fall colors Thursday
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Portions of northwestern Minnesota are showing the most fall color right now. Keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included in the fall color report, not just maples.

Here are some fall color details for Itasca State Park:

Zing! Came the frost. Pop! Go the colors! Color is advancing throughout the park after recent frosts last week. All varieties of Itasca's trees are showing some signs of color change, unusual for this time in September. From the typical ash, basswoods and maple to birch, oak and tamarack. We are quickly moving into the 25 to 30% color change from the understory thru the shrub layer and to the tree tops.

The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.

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.