Here's the simulated radar from 7PM Wednesday to 7PM Saturday, which shows a sizeable storm system moving through the Midwest. This could be a fairly good soaking for many with fairly strong winds.

Here's the extended precipitation outlook through the weekend, which shows widespread 1" to 2" tallies across the southern half of the state. This could be another drought denting rain for many, but still not enough to get out of the drought.

Thanks to some recent heavy rains parts of the state are now in a surplus over the last 90 days. Some of the biggest surpluses (which aren't many) are showing up in blue in pockets along and north of the Twin Cities and also just east of the metro in western Wisconsin.

Recent heavy rains have helped the drought situation quite a bit in spots across the state. With that being said, we're still in a drought across much of the state with nearly 8% under an extreme drought.

Here's a picture from Travis Novitsky and the MN DNR website at Grand Portage State Park . Fall colors look well underway there and will continue over the coming days.

According to the MN DNR, the fall color season is well underway. Parts of northern Minnesota are already at and past peak color. Fall colors will continue to rapidly change, so take a moment and enjoy the season while you can. Note that most leaves will vacate the premises in a few weeks and won't return until sometime in mid/late May...

See more from the MN DNR HERE:

Here's a look at the fall color report in Wisconsin. Fall colors are peaking in some areas and peak isn't far away in others.

See more from Travel Wisconsin HERE:

According to the MN DNR, typical peak color arrives across the international border mid to late September with peak color arriving near the Twin Cities late September to mid October. It won't be long now and you'll be able to find your favorite fall color in a backyard near you.

The 7 day outlook for the Atlantic Basin shows a couple of disturbances in place. The first one located in the Bay of Campeche will lift north over the coming days and has a low probability of formation. Meanwhile, there is a better chance of development with a wave that will drift northwest in the Central Atlantic.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, but did you know that the typical peak is September 10th? This is when the Atlantic Basin has had the most hurricanes and named storms since records began. This is also when weather conditions are at optimal levels for these types of storms.

The weather outlook on Wednesday will still be chillier than average with readings warming into the the 50s across much of the state. Folks in the southwestern corner of the state will warm into the 60s and almost near 70F in Sioux Falls, SD.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Wednesday, October 11th will be a little warmer than it was earlier this week. Skies will remain dry with winds picking up out of the east in advance of our next storm system that will start to bring showers into the region on Thursday.

Temps in Minneapolis will start in the mid/upper 30s in the morning and will only warm into the mid/upper 50s in the afternoon under mostly sunny skies. Easterly winds will increase through the day as the next storm system approaches from the west.

The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows much cooler temperatures as we head through the next several days. Highs will only warm into the 50s, which will be below normal for this time of the year. The coolest day will be on Friday when highs struggle to get to 50F, which will be nearly -10F below average.

The 7 day extended outlook shows temps only warming into the 50s over the next several days with wet and windy weather in place later this week. Areas of heavy rain will be possible late Thursday into Friday with lingering showers into Saturday.

According to NOAA's National Blend of Models, temps will hover in the 50s over the next several days with overnight lows in the 30s and 40s. We're starting to get into real fall - grab the extra layers and pumpkin spice lattes!

We're eyeing up a pretty significant storm system during the 2nd half of the week, which could bring some gusty winds and soaking rains to the Midwest. Friday looks like it could be the soggier day of the week.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows Warmer than average temperatures across the western half of the nation as we approach mid month. Cooler than average readings will be in place across the Southeast.

More active weather will settle in across the Central and Southern US, while drier weather will be in place across the Great Lakes and the Western US.

Too cool for baseball? I'm tuning out complaints from a few Houston Astro fans (welcome to the Land of Free A/C!) while giving thanks we don't live in a 24/7 sauna half the year.

Here in hurricane-free, earthquake-resistent Minnesota we see our fair share of extreme weather, but slapping on a sweatshirt in October is no big deal.

According to Dr. Mark Seeley the first five days of October were the warmest on record, statewide. A "cool correction" was inevitable. Under blue sky the mercury nudges 60Fthis afternoon with a light breeze. Postcard|PART4:Perfect.

A soaking rainstorm is still brewing from late Thursday into Saturday morning as a slow-moving storm sloshes to our south. Weather models consistently print out 1-2" rain with up to 3" in a few spots. With persistent drought gripping many counties that comes as very good news.

A cool bias spills into next week but I'm stubbornly predicting a few milder fronts later in October.

Winter has been pushed back a few weeks; I see a few more 60s in our future.

WEDNESDAY: Blue sky, a light breeze. Winds: E 7-12. High 60.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Winds: ENE 5-10. Low: 38.

THURSDAY: Dry start, rain arrives late PM hours. Winds: E 15-30. High 55.

FRIDAY: Gusty winds with a soaking rain. Winds: NE 20-40. Wake-up: 45. High 50.

SATURDAY: Windy. Showers taper, clouds linger. Winds: N 15-30. Wake-up: 46. High 51.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy and chilly. Winds: N 10-20. Wake-up: 47. High: 52.

MONDAY: Scrappy clouds, winds ease. Winds: N 8-13. Wake-up: 40. High: 52.

TUESDAY: Sunny peeks, feels like fall. Winds: SE 5-10. Wake-up: 39. High: 52.

October 11th

1909: A snowstorm hits the state, along with temperatures dropping to 7 degrees over northern MN.

October 11th

Average High: 61F (Record: 85F set in 2015)

Average Low: 43F (Record: 22F set in 1876)

Record Rainfall: 1.36" set in 1881

Record Snowfall: 0.5" set in 1917 & 1977

October 11th

Sunrise: 7:23am

Sunset: 6:35pm

Hours of Daylight: ~11 hours & 12 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 3 Minutes & 4 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 4 Hour & 35 Minutes

2.5 Days Before New Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temps on Wednesday will still be a bit chilly around the Midwest and Great Lakes region with temps running nearly -5F below average. Folks along the Front Range of the Rockies will warm to above average levels around +10F above average ahead of a developing storm system.

A large storm system will take shape in the Northwestern US with areas of rain, thunder and even high elevation snow. This storm will cross the northern tier of the nation as we head through the 2nd half of the week with areas of heavy rain. Meanwhile, breezy cool and showery weather will linger around the Great Lakes.

A developing storm system in the Northwestern US will begin taking shape midweek in the Midwest. This will bring areas of strong to severe thunderstorms in the Central US along with gusty winds and soaking rains. Areas of snow will also develop in the Rocky Mountains on the back side of the storm system.

The extended precipitation outlook through the weekend shows widespread soaking rains across the Midwest as we head into the 2nd half of the week. Some spots could see in excess of 2" of rain through Saturday!

"Billions of people are at risk of temperatures exceeding survivability limits if global temperatures increase by 1°C (1.8°F) or more above current levels, a new study warns. Even young, healthy people could find it unbearably hot during part of the year, the study finds. Driving the news: Regions in the Middle East and South Asia would "experience the brunt of deadly or intolerable conditions," researchers noted. Toward the higher end of warming scenarios, "potentially lethal combinations of heat and humidity could spread" to areas including U.S. Midwestern states. Why it matters: The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, finds that temperatures are increasing and heat waves are becoming "more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting due to climate change."

See more from Axios HERE:

"El Nino is here to stay — and that's bad news for cocoa crops which are highly sensitive to weather changes. Frequent extreme weather events caused by El Nino and climate change hurts cocoa production. Hotter temperatures and shifts in rainfall patterns can also damage cocoa pod development and promote the spread of pests and diseases. According to the the latest El Nino-Southern Oscillation Outlook, El Nino is expected to last through January to March 2024, with a 71% chance it will intensify from November to January. An intensified and frequent El Nino effect could significantly reduce the amount of arable land for cocoa cultivation. This not only poses a threat to food security, but also endangers the livelihoods of farmers, especially those in West African countries, which are most at risk from extreme weather changes."

See more from CNBC HERE:

"WITH LITTLE FANFARE, the European Union has launched a huge climate experiment. On October 1, the EU kicked off the initial phase of a Europe-wide tax on carbon in imported goods. This marks the first time a carbon border tax has been tried at this scale anywhere in the world. Europe's experiment could have ripple effects across the entire globe, pushing high-emitting industries to clean up their production and incentivizing other countries to launch their own carbon taxes. It may well end up being the most important climate policy you have never heard of. "This is an excellent example of wild ambition on the regulatory front," says Emily Lydgate, a professor of environmental law at the University of Sussex. Nothing approaching the scale or ambition of the EU's carbon border tax exists anywhere in the world, although California has a very limited version of its own carbon tax on energy imports. "It's very novel to roll this out in such a big market. The perturbations throughout the system are pretty huge."

See more from Wired HERE: