Weekend forecast: A bit cooler; best shower chance is on Saturday
Fall color update for leaf-peepers
Some of us are saying “I can’t believe it’s October already.”
I don’t remember many people saying “I can’t believe it’s February already.” That might be because many people enjoy September weather much more than January weather.
We’re starting October with above normal temperatures. Temperatures retreat a bit this weekend, but they’ll still be a bit above average.
Weekend temps and dew points
Our average Twin Cities high temp is 66 degrees on Oct. 2. Metro area highs will reach the lower 70s this Saturday. Much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the 70s, with 60s in far northern Minnesota:
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Saturday dew points will be in the sticky 60s in most of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with comfortable 50s elsewhere:
Sunday highs will be in the lower 70s in most of western and southern Minnesota as well as portions of western Wisconsin, with 60s elsewhere:
Sunday dew points will be in the comfortable 40s and 50s:
Weekend rain chances?
Scattered showers are expected in Minnesota and western Wisconsin Saturday and Saturday night. There could also be a few thunderstorms at times. Some of the scattered shower activity and an isolated thunderstorm could linger into Sunday morning, especially in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin might also see a few very scattered showers Sunday afternoon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 6 a.m. on Saturday through noon on Sunday:
Pay more attention to the scattered nature of the rain in the NAM model than the exact location of the rain at any given point in time.
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
My wife and I saw some areas of stunning fall color on our trip to the North Shore last week.
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.
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.