September summer: A shot at 90 degrees in western Minnesota

The Hobbits would call it “Second Summer.”

Another surge of unseasonable late-season warmth blows into Minnesota Tuesday and Wednesday. Gusty southerly winds will push high temperatures into the 80s across most of Minnesota Tuesday, with 70s in the northeast.

That is a good 20 degrees above normal for some areas. The average high and low for the Twin Cities Tuesday are 66 and 47 degrees.

Wednesday brings another July-like afternoon. Highs will reach the mid-80s once again across much of Minnesota.

Rain chances increase by Thursday

A slow-moving low-pressure system lingers over Minnesota late this week. A few showers could leak into western Minnesota as early as Wednesday night. But the bulk of scattered rain and thunder cells will roam Minnesota Thursday into Saturday.

NOAA’s GFS model loop below paints the system between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7 p.m. Friday. Don’t take the locations of the green and yellow rain blobs literally. But it gives you the idea that occasional rain and thunder will be around late this week.

Temperatures will cool by this weekend but still run a few degrees above average.

Highs next week will likely run mostly in the 60s across Minnesota.