Dry start to the week; Wednesday, Wednesday night soaker
Fall color update for leaf-peepers
Our Sunday high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 49 degrees. Cloud cover and gusty winds made it feel chillier than that. It stayed dry on Sunday in the Twin Cities metro area, but parts of west-central Minnesota and far southern Minnesota saw some showers at times. Those same areas will have a continued shower chance this Sunday evening.
You’ll be happy to know that sunshine returns to many areas on Monday!
Wednesday soaker
Our next good chance of rain arrives late Tuesday night and continues Wednesday and Wednesday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model model shows the potential rain pattern from late Tuesday night through Wednesday evening:
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One forecast model shows rain lingering over eastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin through Thursday morning.
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.
Temperature trends
The average Twin Cities high temp on Oct. 25 is 53 degrees. Metro area highs are forecast to reach the lower 50s this Monday. Much of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Monday highs in the lower 50s, with 40s in parts of northern Minnesota:
Wind gusts of 17-23 miles per hour are expected Monday afternoon in northwestern Minnesota and also near Lake Superior, with lighter winds elsewhere:
Plotted wind forecasts are in knots, with 17 knots equal to 19.6 mph.
Back to forecast highs, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 50s Tuesday, followed by lower 50s Wednesday and Thursday. Highs return to the mid 50s on Friday.
Fall colors
The latest fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shows colors past peak in the dark-red shaded areas of Minnesota:
The percentage of changeover to fall colors is between 75 percent and 100 percent in the medium-red shaded areas, including much of the Twin Cities metro area and portions of southeastern Minnesota.
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.
Halloween outlook
That’s a great picture, but it’s not a forecast of things to come! At this point, forecast maps aren’t showing any scary weather for Halloween next Sunday. Evening temps are expected to be near-normal; dipping into the 30s in northern and central Minnesota with some 40s in the south. Check forecast updates.
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.