Wind, rain, chill target Minnesota; weekend looks sunny, seasonable

A strong storm Wednesday brings wind, rain and chillier weather which could include areas of frost.

Wednesday’s forecast

A potent storm, with its center of low pressure currently over South Dakota, was already pushing rain and a few thunderstorms into southern and western Minnesota as of 9 a.m., including some rain moving over the Twin Cities.

Showers and occasional storms continue in southern Minnesota into the afternoon.

The low pressure of the storm will clip northwestern Minnesota, meaning rain persists north through the evening, then diminishes overnight Wednesday.

Because of the storm track, western Minnesota is likely to see the most rain, with some totals of up to 1 inch and isolated higher amounts under persistent storms.

Most of the state will get between one-tenth and one-half inch.

The strong pressure change associated with the storm will cause high winds throughout the day, with gusts over 40 mph expected for much of the state.

With mostly cloudy skies overnight and a southeasterly flow ahead of the storm, morning temperatures were very mild for mid-October, with most of the state in the 50s and a couple 40s north.

However, the clouds and rain keep the state from warming too much, with highs in the 50s north and 60s south.

Still, this is 5 to 10 degrees above average.

Chillier, then a seasonable weekend

The storm draws in cooler air behind it, dropping highs into the 50s across Minnesota by Thursday, with a couple temperatures north that do not make it out of the 40s. Breezy winds, gusting over 20 mph make it feel even chillier.

Temperatures fall a couple more degrees for most of the state by Friday, with a few more upper 40s north, and southern Minnesota only in the mid-50s.

This is only a couple of degrees below state averages for mid-October. The Twin Cities average high for Oct. 15 is 59 degrees and International Falls is 52, but it feels cool because so much of October has been exceptionally warm with actual highs mostly in the 70s.

There may already be some areas of frost Friday morning, but especially with Friday’s chill and clear skies Friday night, much of Minnesota will dip into the 30s by early Saturday morning, making widespread frost a concern.

Highs rebound into the 50s and 60s over the weekend, with the help of abundant sunshine.

Here is that temperature trend for the Twin Cities:

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