Selected preliminary Storm Total Snowfall

MONTANA
HELENA 2 W - 24.0
MONTANA CITY 1 SE - 18.3
LIVINGSTON 4.0 SW - 16.0
LEWISTOWN - 13.0
CLANCY 2 N - 12.0
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - 12.0

NORTH DAKOTA
MINOT 2 W - 12.0
STANLEY 5 E - 11.0
HARVEY - 10.5
GLADSTONE 6 NW - 10.0
RHAME 2 E - 9.0
RUGBY 1 E - 9.0
BURLINGTON - 8.5

See more from NWS WPC HERE:

We've had some pretty incredible rainfall across parts of the state since September 23rd. In fact, some locations around the Twin Cities (highlighted in white and blue) have see nearly 10" of rain or more in a little more than 1 month!

The extended precipitation outlook through next week shows lighter precipitation amounts across the state over the next several days, but some of this could be in the form of snow.

Here's the simulated radar from AM Saturday to Sunday, which shows areas of light snow drifting across southern Minnesota as we head into the later half of Saturday and Saturday night with not much accumulation expected.

Here's the snowfall potential through the weekend, which doesn't show much, but there could be some slushy accumulations across the far southern part of the state, especially closer to I-90.

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 are showing up in blue in pockets across parts of central Minnesota, including the Twin Cities and into western Wisconsin. It has been a very soggy last 5 weeks.

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 more than 50% under a moderate drought (or worse). Nearly 96% of the state is still abnormally dry, but there have been improvments!

According to the MN DNR, much of Minnesota is at or past peak. 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 Tropical Storm Tammy East of Bermuda.

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 temperature outlook on Saturday shows much cooler temperatures in place across the state with highs only warming into the 30s, which will be nearly -10F to -20F below average for this time of the year. There will also be areas of snow developing across the southern half of the state.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Saturday, October 28th will be significantly colder than it was earlier this week. Highs will only warm into the 30s, which will be well below average for this time of the year. There will also a few light snow showers late in the day as well.

Temperatures in Minneapolis will start in the upper 20s in the morning and will warm to the mid 30s by the afternoon, which will be nearly -15F below average for this time of the year. Much of the day will be dry in the metro, but there could be a few flurries later in the day. Colder, northwesterly winds will be around 10mph to 15mph through the afternoon.

The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows temps running well below average over the next several days. Highs will only warm into the 30s, which will be nearly -15F below average for the end of October.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows cold and fairly quiet weather in place with high warming from the 30s this weekend to the 30s later next week. There could be a few snow flurries on Saturday and Halloween Tuesday, but most days will stay dry.

According to NOAA's National Blend of Models, temps will be significantly cooler over the next several days with highs only warming into the 30s and 40s. However, we could get close to 50F again by next weekend before temps tumble again during the first full week of November.

Weather conditions in the Central US will continue to be more unsettled as we head through the end of October and into Early November. Note that we are starting to see more blue on the map, which is snowfall potential and colder temps.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows cooler than average temperatures across parts of the northern tier of the nation. During that timeframe, it appears that warmer than average temperatures will develop across the Western US.

The 8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook shows more unsettled weather across the northern tier of the nation and the East Coast. Drier weather will develop in the Desert Southwest and Southern Plains.

Somedays I'm more therapist than meteorologist. "Are we going to see another Halloween blizzard? "Um no. "It's cold out there - does this mean a rough winter is coming?" Nope. But there will be cold fronts and snow, although with El Nino kicking in odds favor a somewhat milder/drier winter. "Is that it for warm fronts Paul?" Odds favor far more cold fronts than warm fronts in the months to come (it's called "winter") but we haven't seen the last 50s of 2023. More 60s and 70s? Dream on.

Flurries will brush far southern Minnesota today; just enough flakes to stare out the window and point. Expect highs in the 30s from today into next Wednesday with nights dipping into the low to mid 20s. A hard freeze is imminent. Your begonias are in grave peril.

Halloween will be brisk with an inch of slush, winds gusting over 30mph behind a clipper and a wind chill dipping below 20F at times. A few extra layers under a costume is a good idea.

I do see 40s, maybe 50F late next week. We have been so spoiled.

SATURDAY: Clouds. PM flurries. Winds: NW 8-13. High 35.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Snow flurries fade. Winds: WNW 5. Low: 26.

SUNDAY: Nippy with more clouds than sun. Winds: NW 8-13. High: 38.

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy and breezy. Winds: W 10-20. Wake-up: 27. High: 39.

TUESDAY: Inch of slush? Gusty. Feels like 15-20. Winds: N 15-35. Wake-up: 28. High: 38.

WEDNESDAY: Peeks of sun, still chilly. Winds: S 10-20. Wake-up: 25. High 36.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny. Tolerable. Winds: NW 5-10. Wake-up: 28. High 43.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Rain up north. Winds: S 8-13. Wake-up: 30. High 45.

October 28th

1887: Albert Lea sets a record low of -6 degrees F.

1830: A 'heat wave' hits Ft. Snelling. The high temperature reached 80.

October 28th

Average High: 52F (Record: 75F set in 1948)

Average Low: 36F (Record: 17F set in 1905 & 1925)

Record Rainfall: 1.97" set in 1874

Record Snowfall: 0.4" set in 1895

October 28th

Sunrise: 7:45am

Sunset: 6:07pm

Hours of Daylight: ~10 hours & 21 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 2 Minutes & 52 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 5 Hour & 26 Minutes

0.4 Days After Full "Hunters" Moon - Oct. 28 at 3:24 p.m. CDT "With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other animals that have come out to glean and can be caught for a Thanksgiving banquet after the harvest. A partial lunar eclipse also occurs on this date. Unlike the May event, this one sees the moon brush the Earth's darker umbral shadow; at maximum (20:14 GMT) about 12% of the moon's diameter will be within the shadow, darkening its lower limb. The Earth's Eastern Hemisphere faces the moon when the eclipse takes place, however, Atlantic Canada will see the last of the umbra slip off the moon when it rises and sharp-eyed New Englanders will be able to perceive the faint shading of the penumbra as the moon appears above their horizon."

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temps on Saturday will be summer-like across the southern and eastern US, but a major cold front will drop temps to well below average readings farther west.

The National Weather Outlook on Saturday shows unsettled weather across the Central US. Areas of rain and thunder will be possible along with locally heavy rain. Meanwhile, Winter Weather Headlines have been posted across Central Plains with some minor snow accumulations possible.

The National Weather outlook through Sunday shows a fairly decent storm taking shape with areas of heavy snow along the Front Range of the Rockies, while areas of heavy rain will be possible across the Central and Southern US.

The extended precipitation outlook shows widespread rainfall across the Central US. There could be several inches of rain from Texas to the Great Lakes.

According to the ECMWF weather model, areas of heavy snow will still be possible across the High Elevations in the Rockies, but there will also be some minor accumulations in the Midwest over the coming days.

"If typical climate patterns hold, the soaring temperatures we had in 2023 could get even hotter next year. There is little doubt among climate forecasters that 2023 is on track to beat out 2016 as the warmest year on record globally. As we keep pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, our planet continues to warm. But this year has seen a confluence of events that appear to be pushing temperatures even higher than expected. One of those events is an El Niño, a natural and cyclical warming in the Pacific Ocean that warms the atmosphere above it, which can raise the global temperature and alter weather patterns across the planet. But experts say that so far, it's played a small part in 2023's soaring temperatures. Its bigger role is yet to come. "Usually, it's the subsequent year that is the warmest year," said Tom Di Liberto, a climate scientist and public affairs specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)."

See more from CBC HERE:

A historically stormy winter followed by a relatively cool spring and summer pushed Napa's grape harvest well into fall leaving the fruit susceptible to autumn storms and chills, winemakers said that waiting game has so far paid off in terms of quantity and quality. John Anthony Truchard, founder and CEO of John Anthony Family of Wines, said that Napa has seen a shorter growing season with lots of sun and heat in recent years. Harvest started as early as late August for grapes for sparkling wine. In those years, all the fruit could be in by the end of October. "More typical in Napa Valley is a longer growing season where we may still have 5-10% to harvest in November," Truchard said. "This year, due to a wet winter and spring earlier this year followed by a cooler summer, that number could be as much as 15-20% still to harvest in November."

See more from Fox Weather HERE:

"She Warned Us that Hurricanes Were Getting Sneakier. Six Days Later, Otis Hit. Last week, I spoke with researcher Andra Garner about how hurricanes are increasingly sneaking up on us. She had recently published a new study in Scientific Reports, which found that Atlantic hurricanes are "more than twice as likely to strengthen from a weak Category 1 hurricane to a major Category 3 or stronger hurricane in a 24-hour period than they were between 1970 and 1990." In her comments to me, Garner had stressed that "when storms intensify quickly, they can become more difficult to forecast and to plan for in terms of emergency action plans for coastal residents." Less than a week later, her warning has seemingly come true in the form of Hurricane Otis, which made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, on Wednesday morning as a record-breaking Category 5 storm. It had intensified from a tropical storm in a mere 12 hours and taken meteorologists almost completely by surprise."

See more from Heat Map HERE: