Sunday heat recap; summery Monday, cooler midweek
Fall color update for leaf-peepers
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Our Sunday temps would have been warm for July, but they were historically hot for October.
The Sunday high at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 92 degrees. It was a new Twin Cities record high temp for Oct. 1 and it was 26 degrees warmer than the average high temp (66 degrees) for this date. It was also the warmest October temp in Twin Cities weather records, which date back to 1872.
St. Cloud also set heat records for Oct. 1 and for the month of October. Eau Claire, Wis. tied their daily and monthly records:
Many locations in southern Minnesota, west-central and central Minnesota had highs in the 90s. Moorhead also reached the 90s.
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The heat isn’t done with us yet.
Temperature trends
Monday highs will be mainly in the 80s, with some 90s in southwestern and south-central Minnesota:
Much of the metro area will reach the upper 80s. There will be a few 70s up along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Tuesday high temps will be in the 70s in northern Minnesota with 80s to the south:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 70 degrees on Wednesday, followed by mid 60s Thursday then upper 50s on Friday.
Rain chances return Tuesday night and linger into Wednesday
Scattered showers and thunderstorms could develop in western Minnesota Tuesday afternoon, ahead of an approaching cold front. The showers and thunderstorm coverage is expected to expand to include much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Tuesday evening and Tuesday night, then linger into Wednesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from noon Tuesday to 11 p.m. Tuesday:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. Also check out the MPR News display of National Weather Service radar.
September climate data
September was 5.6 degrees warmer than normal in the Twin Cities and 2.70 inches wetter than normal:
September 2023 was the warmest September in Twin Cities weather records. It was the first wetter than normal month in the Twin Cities since March. Most of the September rainfall occurred during the final eight days of the month.
Fall colors are popping
Fall colors are popping in much of Minnesota.
The changeover to fall colors is highest in the northern half of Minnesota, but parts of west-central and southwestern Minnesota are also seeing plenty of fall color.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color report for Minnesota State Parks and Trails looks like this:
We’re seeing pockets of brilliant fall color in parts of the Twin Cities metro area, but many metro area trees are still green or are just starting to reveal fall colors.
When you look at the fall color map, keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included. Maples can sometimes be peaking in an area when the overall changeover to fall color is 50 percent or less.
The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.
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.
