Douglas: Summery weather will stick around

With 80s in the forecast, traditional fall has been pushed back a few weeks.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 11, 2024 at 10:05PM

Summer ends on Labor Day. Mother Nature: Hold my 10,000 Lakes THC Seltzer. With man-made warming flavoring weather patterns, summery 80s usually spill deep into September. Some years, we sweat a little in October. Winters are slowly shrinking, while summers expand.

Most years, lawns are yellowing, lake water levels falling and sugar maples ripening by mid-September. Not this year. Traditional fall has been pushed back a few weeks, and I see 80s into much of next week.

At some point shorter daylight and a rapidly cooling Canada will send a few airmail packages of chilly air south of the border, but no time soon.

Weather patterns over the U.S. will stall and then “retrograde” a little, moving from east to west. Some of the moisture leftover from Hurricane Francine may water your lawn by Monday, which is a bit odd, but why not?

More widespread thunderstorms during the middle of next week mark the leading edge of cooler air, bringing 70s for highs by late September. But please don’t pack away the shorts anytime soon.

about the writer

Paul Douglas

Columnist

Paul Douglas is a nationally-respected meteorologist, with 40 years of broadcast television and radio experience. He provides daily print and online weather services for the Star Tribune.

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