Douglas: Weekend brings cool sun; 80 on Tuesday?

“The days are long, but the years are short.” I get it now. Following up, Minnesota springs are short, but falls are (increasingly) long and luxurious.

Highs in the 70s return early next week, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see 80 on Tuesday before cooling off to near normal later in the week. We had our ration of rain yesterday, and models hint at more showers by Wednesday. Enough rain to settle the dust.

Late autumn warmth would be more fun if we weren’t grappling with moderate to severe drought statewide.

No big storms here anytime soon, but NOAA’s GFS model continues to spin up a Florida hurricane before Election Day. I’m very skeptical but watching it.

And NOAA says the impending La Niña cool phase in the Pacific may not be as strong as previously thought. Who cares? El Niño favors mild, drier winters (like last winter). La Niña favors colder, wetter winters for Minnesota.

I still think we’ll see more snow and cold than last winter, but I’ll be surprised if it’s a brutal, pioneer winter. Last time that happened? 2014.