Warm, windy Sunday; evening thunderstorms possible

Temperatures will be unusually warm Sunday, and you’ll notice rising dew points and increasing winds.

A low-pressure system will move from northeastern Colorado into Nebraska Sunday morning and then into South Dakota in the afternoon. The strengthening system will bring strong winds to Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Sunday temps, winds, dew points

Sunday highs will rise well into the 70s across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Parts of southwestern and south-central Minnesota will top 80 degrees. Far northern Minnesota will have highs in the 60s. Twin Cities metro area highs in the upper 70s will be more than 20 degrees warmer than our average Oct. 23 high of 54.

Dew points will rise into the 50s and will probably reach the upper 50s in some areas Sunday afternoon:

Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph will be common in the afternoon, and gusts over 40 mph are expected Sunday evening from the south metro into southern Minnesota, where a wind advisory begins Sunday evening:

Severe weather possible late Sunday, overnight

Some areas of showers and thunderstorms are possible late Sunday and Sunday night. That shower and thunderstorm chance could begin late Sunday afternoon in western and far southern Minnesota, then expand to include the rest of Minnesota plus western Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night.  

A few strong or severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday evening into Sunday night and early Monday.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather (shaded yellow) during that time period in southwestern Minnesota, with a marginal risk (darker green) over much of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin:

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible. An isolated severe thunderstorm is possible in the marginal risk areas, including the Twin Cities. The risk details on the severe weather graphic are from the Twin Cities NWS office.

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.

Fall color update

Some trees have dropped most of their leaves, but there are still pockets of good fall color in portions of southern and central Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color report for Minnesota State Parks and Trails looks like this:

The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.

Update

A new Updraft will be posted around 10:20 a.m., and it’ll include an update on today’s weather plus a look at the week ahead.

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.