Storm winds down; Twin Cities' first frost in sight?
Frosty suburbs Saturday morning? Even colder air may arrive late next week.
The season’s first blustery fall-like October storm system spun up impressively over Minnesota Wednesday.
The GOES-16 visible satellite loop above shows the impressive swirl around the low-pressure center in the eastern Dakotas Wednesday afternoon. Note the dry (sunny) slot working through southern Minnesota and the lumpy cumulonimbus clouds in western and northern Minnesota.
The heaviest rains and strongest storms favored western Minnesota with this system. Check out the radar loop showing an impressive arcing line of strong to severe storms that flared Wednesday afternoon around the low-pressure center eastward into western Minnesota.
Cells in that storm line did produce brief tornado touchdowns in western Minnesota.
4 S Barry [Big Stone Co, MN] PUBLIC reports TORNADO at 3:46 PM CDT -- CONFIRMED WITH PICTURES SENT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
4 NW Clinton [Big Stone Co, MN] FIRE DEPT/RESCUE reports TORNADO at 3:42 PM CDT -- CONFIRMED BY GRACEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT. TIME APPROXIMATED BASED ON RADAR.
Here’s a shot of a small funnel cloud aloft in that area.
Heavy snow west
We can be grateful we’re on the warmer side of this system. It dumped nearly 2 feet of snow in Deadwood, South Dakota, and produced wind gusts to 79 mph in Wasta, South Dakota.
3 NW Wasta [Pennington Co, SD] MESONET reports NON-TSTM WND GST of M79 MPH at 12:25 PM MDT --
Weather mellows through this weekend
Minnesota enjoys cooler weather as we head for the weekend. Highs will be in the 40s north and 50s south through Friday.
Friday and Saturday mornings bring a threat of frost to southern Minnesota. Saturday will be the coldest morning, with temperatures dipping to near 40 degrees in the inner (I-494/694 loop) Twin Cities core. Lows in the middle 30s in the suburbs and most of southern Minnesota could bring widespread frost.
Sunday brings the sunniest and mildest day this weekend with highs in the mid-60s south to near 60 north.
Monday’s highs will reach 70 degrees again across southern Minnesota.
Several forecast models suggest colder temperatures and a better chance for frost in the inner Twin Cities late next week.
Stay tuned.
Your support matters.
You make MPR News possible. Individual donations are behind the clarity in coverage from our reporters across the state, stories that connect us, and conversations that provide perspectives. Help ensure MPR remains a resource that brings Minnesotans together.