Breezy all weekend; highest flake chances in NE Minnesota, NW Wisconsin
Fall color update for leaf-peepers
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A low-pressure system will continue to bring periods of snow, rain or a rain-snow mix to north-central and northeastern Minnesota plus parts of northwestern Wisconsin into Saturday afternoon. Portions of northwestern Minnesota could see a passing sprinkle or flurry.
Some spots in northern Minnesota could end up with Saturday snowfall totals of 1 inch or more:
You can check the MPR News interactive radar display here. I should mention that the Twin Cities National Weather Service radar, which is located in Chanhassen, is out of service for a few days:
We have updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.
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Lingering snow showers or mix on Sunday
Northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin could also see periods of light snow or a rain-snow mix on Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. Sunday to 9 p.m. Sunday:
Heavier snow is possible on Sunday near the south shore of Lake Superior.
Temperature trends
Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 59 degrees this time of year. Saturday highs in the are expected to be a few degrees cooler than average in the metro area.
Highs will be mainly in the 50s in the southern half of Minnesota plus west-central Wisconsin Saturday afternoon. A few spots in far southwestern Minnesota could top 60.
Highs in the 40s are forecast for most of the northern half of Minnesota plus northwestern Wisconsin. It’ll be breezy Saturday afternoon.
Sunday highs will be in the 30s across roughly the northern third of Minnesota, with 40s elsewhere:
Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be in the 22 to 28 mph range in most areas:
Forecast gusts are in knots, with 22 knots, equal to 25.3 mph.
Back to temperatures, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 40 degrees on Monday, followed by lower 40s Tuesday and around 50 on Wednesday. Metro area highs could reach the lower 50s on Thursday and upper 50s Friday.
Some forecast models are showing metro area highs in the upper 60s next weekend. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a strong tendency for above-normal temperatures from next weekend into the following week:
We’ll see if that pans out.
Fall color update
Recent strong winds have taken a lot of leaves off of our trees, but there are still some areas of great fall color in portions of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color report for Minnesota State Parks and Trails looks like this:
When you look at fall color maps, keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included. The maples can be peaking in a given area when the overall changeover to fall color is 50 percent or less.
The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.
Weather nugget
Despite chilly temps that past two days, our average Twin Cities temp is running 2.5 degrees warmer than normal this October. The average monthly temperature is an average of all the daily high temps and low temps at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Our average Twin Cities temperature was 6.1 degrees warmer than normal last October, but it was 5.3 degrees cooler than normal in October of 2020.
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. Saturday and Sunday.