By Todd Nelson, filling in for Douglas:
Douglas: Final, final 80 of the year; little rain in sight
But the European weather model suggests a quick spike into the upper 70s early next week.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 20, 2024 at 9:26PM
How is everyone doing out there? Are we all OK with 80s in October? It’s not odd to see 80s this month, but our average last is on Oct. 1. Last year we saw 87 degrees on Oct. 3, and the latest was 83 degrees on Halloween back in 1950.
Monday should be our final, final 80-degree day of the year. However, the long-range European weather model suggests a quick spike into the upper 70s again early next week. We’ll see. Despite a couple of cool days last week, we’re still sitting at our warmest and driest start to fall on record. Today will also be our 32nd consecutive day without measurable precipitation at MSP airport, which moves us into the fourth-driest stretch on record. A cool front moves through on Tuesday with a few light showers, mainly across northern Minnesota and another slight chance on Thursday as well. Rain totals would be very light and not enough to help with a deepening drought before the ground freezes up.
Temperatures on Wednesday will be significantly cooler than Monday’s, with highs in the mid-50s, but that’s average now.
We’ll see the coldest air since mid-February