Another Blast Of Cooler Air Moves In Sunday

It was another snowy start Saturday morning up across parts of northern Minnesota. Cooler road temperatures were in place due to the snow over the past couple of days and cooler temperatures allowing some of todays snow to stick on some of the roadways, including on Highway 53 north of Virginia.

And the snow fell in Duluth as well, with another 2" of accumulation from the overnight hours through 7 AM. Unlike Friday, however, this was not enough to break Saturdays record snowfall of 7.9" back in 1966.

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Yesterdays snow was a record breaker for a few areas of the upper Midwest - including the Twin Cities, Duluth, Eau Claire, Rhinelander, Wausau, and Green Bay.

The 0.4" that fell in the Twin Cities beat the previous record for the day of a Trace, which had been set three previous times (most recently in 1959). One other thing to note on this almanac as long as I have it here - we're almost 9" below average in the precipitation department so far this year. This is helping to lead to our Extreme Drought in the metro.

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After a blip of warmer air (and sunnier skies) on Saturday in the metro, we will be right back to cooler, cloudier, and windier conditions on Sunday. Morning temperatures will start off in the upper 30s, only climbing to the mid-40s for highs. Most of the day will be cloudy in the metro with the best chance of clearer skies mainly in the early morning hours. While not mentioned in the graphics above, I do not think I can rule out a spare rain/snow/wintry precipitation shower in the metro - I'd put chances low, but non-zero.

Along with the wave of cooler air comes another blast of stronger winds, with gusts approaching 30 mph in the metro out of the northwest in the afternoon hours.

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With that cool blast, highs won't make it out of the 30s on Monday before slowly moderating as we head through the week. Highs look to rebound into the 50s by Thursday, approaching average into Friday. There's a question to how fast the cool air will move out, but models show the potential of at least 60s (and some show 70s) for next weekend.

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Fall colors south of Hill City on October 15, 2022 - D.J. Kayser

Here's a handy map of typical peak fall colors from the MN DNR. This ranges from mid/late September in far northern Minnesota to mid-October in southern parts of the state.

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Hard Freeze Gives Way To Indian Summer

By Paul Douglas

I was in Detroit Lakes Saturday, talking about climate conservatism and how every threat is an opportunity. There were still (fishing) boats in the water. That's pretty hard core for mid-October.

A reinforcing push of chilly air whips up chilling winds today with temperatures stuck in the 40s. Skies clear by Tuesday with a hard freeze (a few hours below 28F - cold enough to kill off any hardy perennials in your yard). But the weather pendulum will swing in the other direction later next week. All weather models consistently predict 60s, even a shot at low 70s by next weekend. Indian Summer beckons.

Longer range guidance brings a shot of more significant rain into Minnesota a week from Monday. Until further notice a forecast of rain is "good news". We could all use some of that right?

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SUNDAY: Cloudy, windy and cool. Wake up 38. High 43. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 15-30 mph.

TUESDAY: Early freeze - more sunshine. Wake up 26. High 42. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny with less wind. Wake up 29. High 48. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind W 7-12 mph.

THURSDAY: Mix of clouds and sun. Wake up 36. High 53. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

FRIDAY: Hello Indian Summer. Blue sky. Wake up 43. High 67. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 7-12 mph.

SATURDAY: Sunny and potentially amazing. Wake up 50. High 71. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
October 16th

*Length Of Day: 10 hours, 56 minutes, and 6 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 1 second

*When Do We Drop Below 10 Hours Of Daylight?: November 5th (9 hours, 58 minutes, 32 seconds)
*Latest Sunrise Before The Time Change: November 5th (7:57 AM)
*Earliest Sunset Before The Time Change: November 5th (5:55 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
October 16th

1937: A snowstorm dumps 10 inches at Bird Island.

1880: An early blizzard occurs in Minnesota. The blizzard struck western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas especially hard. Over a foot of snow fell in western counties. Railroads were blocked, and damage was done to Great Lakes shipping.

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A frontal boundary from the Southwest to the Mid-Atlantic will bring the chance of showers and thunderstorms to the region Sunday - some which could be strong across portions of Texas. Meanwhile, a system across the Great Lakes will bring rain and snow chances, with heavier snow possible along and south of the South Shore of Lake Superior.

Across portions of the Southern Plains, 1-3" of rain could fall over the next few days - hopefully helping out drought conditions a little bit.

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Fire crews stand ready in parched Minnesota

More from the Star Tribune: "Just past Prior Lake, the earth was on fire. Flames burrowed into the dry, peaty soil of Springfield Township and smoldered for days, as fire crews hacked and dug, trying to stop the flames before they threatened lives and property. Peat has been a source of warmth and fuel for thousands of years. But usually it has to be cut out of the earth and dried before it can burn. Minnesota's summer drought had turned the ground beneath our feet to kindling. ... Small wildfires burned outside Prior Lake and Arlington in the Twin Cities metro this week. One was sparked by burning debris. The other fire's cause has not been determined, but the odds are that one of us started it."

Inside the industry push to label your yogurt cup 'recyclable'

More from Grist: "Plastic recycling labels are everywhere: The ubiquitous "chasing arrows" symbol adorns everything from plastic bags and water bottles to kids' toys. Most commonly, these symbols appear with a number — 1 through 7 — that identifies the type of plastic resin a product is made of. A number 1, for instance, corresponds to polyethylene terephthalate, or PET — the stuff that makes up water bottles. Number 6 is for polystyrene, used in foam cups and trays. The plastics industry insists these icons were never meant to indicate a product's recyclability, even though that is how they are often perceived by consumers. In fact, most plastics are not recyclable, largely because there is no market for materials labeled 3 through 7. But that hasn't stopped the widespread use of the chasing arrows."

More from Canary Media: "The world's airlines will need to act rapidly if they're going to meet a new global goal for curbing emissions, experts say. Last Friday, the International Civil Aviation Organization agreed to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The specialized United Nations agency, which has 193 member countries, adopted the long-term aspirational target after nearly a decade of negotiations. To stay on track, ​"we'll need to peak emissions as soon as 2025," Dan Rutherford, aviation director for the nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation, said in a written statement."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

- D.J. Kayser