Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

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Cloudy skies make an appearance on Thursday with cooler temperatures in the 60s and 70s. We enjoy a few fall-like days before our warmth returns with the 80s. There’s a small precipitation chance on Saturday, mainly for western Wisconsin. 

Mother Nature appears to be tossing around temperatures as if it's a lottery. Highs were in the 60s on Tuesday, followed by 80s on Wednesday and now back into the 60s and 70s for Thursday. 

We can thank multiple cold fronts for these fluctuating temperatures. One has to be reminded that these “cooler” temperatures in the 60s, are the average temperatures for early October. 

Cloud cover is a rarity we've not experienced lately. Out of 30 days in September, only five featured partly to mostly cloudy skies. The rest of the month was filled with sunshine.

A persistent cloud deck visible on satellite will continue to move across central Minnesota, drifting southward as we approach Thursday evening. Recently, the dryness has hindered previous cold fronts from generating a thicker cloud deck. 

Temperatures under the cloud cover will be cooler, in the 60s, while southern Minnesota is expected to reach the 70s with more sunshine.

On Monday and Wednesday of this week, we experienced two cold fronts that briefly cooled our temperatures. The strongest of the three fronts is set to arrive on Saturday, bringing increased dew points and gusty winds. 

A line of showers and thunderstorms is expected to develop late Saturday afternoon into the early evening along the front. Currently, it looks like western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota may be the fortunate areas to receive some rainfall.

Looking at the future forecast models feels like being trapped in the movie "Groundhog Day," where every week brings a repeat of warm and dry weather. 

There are no major precipitation events in the models, and temperatures continue to trend above normal despite our roller coaster of cooler weather. 

In the wake of Hurricane Helene's destruction, residents in the southeast and along the Eastern Seaboard can find some relief regarding Hurricane Kirk. 

Hurricane Kirk is a Category 3 hurricane in the Atlantic with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. Although some strengthening is anticipated in the next day or so, Kirk is expected to remain well offshore.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Mandy Thalhuber

Author

Cloudy skies make an appearance on Thursday with cooler temperatures in the 60s and 70s. We enjoy a few fall-like days before our warmth returns with the 80s. There’s a small precipitation chance on Saturday, mainly for western Wisconsin. 


NOAA via College of DuPage Weather

GOES Satellite Thursday around 11:30 a.m. 

NOAA

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Dewpoints Saturday through Sunday morning. 

Forecast simulated radar Saturday morning through Saturday evening. 

Large temperature swings into the weekend; dry spell digs in

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