Here's the weather outlook through Monday, which shows isolated showers and storms across the Upper Midwest through the day.

The rainfall potential shows minimal rainfall through the week ahead.

It's been a dry October with many locations nearly 1" to 2" below average for the month of October.

If you look at the precipitation deficit for the season (since September 1st) the deficit is even greater. Many locations are well below average.

The Twin Cities is more than 9.5" below average for the year

Here's the fall color update for Minnesota & Wisconsin. Fall colors are generally past peak in many spots across the state. There is still some peak color in the southeastern part of the state, but with strong winds during the day Sunday, we'll lose a lot of leaves.

See more from the MN DNR HERE & Travel Wisconsin HERE:

The MN DNR has put together a nice graphic that shows typical dates for peak fall color. The northern par of the state starts to peak during the 2nd half of September into early October. Meanwhile, folks in the central part of the state and into the metro typically don't see peak color until the end of September into the middle part of October. It won't be long now - enjoy!

The chemicals - Four main groups of biochemicals are responsible for the various yellows, oranges, reds and browns that we see in the fall: Chlorophyll, Carotenoids, Anthocyanins, Tannins. Each has its own color and chemistry. As the amount of these chemicals vary, they will cause subtle variations in color from one leaf to the next, or even from tree to tree.

See more from the MN DNR HERE:

The weather outlook through the middle part of the week shows a strong storm pushing through the region with isolated strong to severe thunderstorms overnight Sunday. Strong winds will be in place through the early week time frame with falling temps through the last full week of October.

Temperature on Monday will be well above average for late October with readings warming into the 60s and 70s early in the day. Temperatures will fall through the day.

The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Monday shows temps starting in the upper 60s and falling through the day.

The hourly forecast for Minneapolis on Monday shows temps starting in the upper 60s in the morning and falling to the 50s by the afternoon.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis over the next several days shows very warm temps in place on Monday, but will fall into the 50s through the rest of the week

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days shows storms and falling temps on Monday. Near average temps will be in place through the rest of the week.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows warmer than average temps in place across the Eastern two-thirds of the nation, while cooler than average temps will be found in the Western US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather setting up across the Northwest with above average precipitation chance also possible from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast.

"Soak up the good times and power through the bad." Good advice from a smart friend many years ago. I was amused to see reactions from people a week ago Friday, when a slushy coating woke us from a lukewarm stupor. Then came a hard freeze and a flurry of knee-jerk reactions. "See, it's 'gonna be a tough winter! It's may be an omen!" Not necessarily. It was a first shot across the bow, nothing more.

Temperatures will be close to average into next week, with a cool correction into the 50s this week, but low 60s return next weekend. I'm holding off on

snow tires and driveway stakes until further notice.

71F Saturday and mid-70s yesterday? Impressive, considering the sun is hanging as low in the southern sky as it did the third week of February.

A lazy cold front squeezes out a shower today, maybe a few hours of steady rain tonight. Not nearly enough rain. No storms brewing. No more slush anytime soon. Deep breaths.

The sky is not falling, a harsh pioneer winter is not locked in. Winter is coming, eventually...

MONDAY: Gusty with a few showers. Winds: SW 15-35. High: 65 & falling.

MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy and cooler. Winds: W 5-15. Low: 40.

TUESDAY: Gradual clearing. Winds: NW 8-13. Wake-up: 40. High: 52.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny and brisk. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 39. High: 53.

THURSDAY: Clouds increase, stray shower north. Winds: SE 7-12. Wake-up: 40. High: 57.

FRIDAY: Partly sunny and pleasant. Winds: S 7-12. Wake-up: 46. High: 59.

SATURDAY: Blue sky, very pleasant. Winds: S 7-12. Wake-up: 43. High: 62.

SUNDAY: Mild sunshine. Rake some leaves. Winds: S 7-12. Wake-up: 44. High: .

October 24th

1922: A powerful low pressure system over Minnesota brings 55 mph winds to Collegeville.

October 23rd

Average High: 54F (Record: 80F set in 1889)

Average Low: 38F (Record: 15F set in 1887)

Record Rainfall: 1.00" set in 1899

Record Snowfall: 0.2" set in 1942

October 24th

Sunrise: 7:40am

Sunset: 6:13pm

Hours of Daylight: ~10 hours & 32 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 2 minutes & 55 seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 5 hour & 7 minutes

0.2 Days Before New Moon

The weather outlook on Monday shows very warm weather across the Central US with record highs possible for some. Meanwhile, colder weather with areas of snow will be possible in the Western US.

Monday will be an active day from the Rockies to the Central US as a large storm system moves out in to the Plains. Heavy snow will be found in the Mountains, while strong to severe storms will be possible in the Midwest.

The weather outlook through Wednesday shows a large are of low pressure moving through the Midwest. This storm will bring heavy snow to the mountain and strong to severe storms into the Plains. Winds will also be quite strong through the early week time frame.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavier precipitation will be possible across the Central US and the Pacific Northwest.

Areas of heavy snowfall will be possible through the Western US and especially in the mountains through the early week time frame.

"The North Pole is melting faster than ever, but the chill in the air at this year's global gathering of Arctic experts had more to do with the widening repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The planetary consequences of that war have, by now, reached far beyond the disruption of climate efforts in Europe, where gas shortages have prompted governments to recommission coal plants. The conflict has also intensified a race among great powers for ascendancy in the Arctic, adding to pressure on a fragile system that's critical to mitigating global warming."

See more from Bloomberg HERE:

"NUCLEAR FUSION REACTORS could eventually harness the power of the sun to generate massive amounts of clean energy. But for now, they're prone to instabilities that can wreak havoc on the futuristic machines. Now, in a new study published in the journal Physical Review Letters, scientists have found a possible way to avoid these destructive instabilities — purposefully cooking up a bunch of smaller ones."

See more from Inverse HERE:

"U.S. rivers are getting into hot water. The frequency of river and stream heat waves is on the rise, a new analysis shows. Like marine heat waves, riverine heat waves occur when water temperatures creep above their typical range for five or more days (SN: 2/1/22). Using 26 years of United States Geological Survey data, researchers compiled daily temperatures for 70 sites in rivers and streams across the United States, and then calculated how many days each site experienced a heat wave per year. From 1996 to 2021, the annual average number of heat wave days per river climbed from 11 to 25, the team reports October 3 in Limnology and Oceanography Letters."

See more Science News HERE: