By Todd Nelson, filling in for Douglas:
Believe it or not, we’re a little more than a week away from the Autumnal Equinox, or the official start of fall in the northern hemisphere, on Sept. 22. We’ve lost nearly three hours of daylight since the Summer Solstice in June, and the sun is as strong now as it is in mid-March. Who knew?
September can be a month of big extremes with MSP recording temps from 104 degrees in 1931 to 26 degrees in 1974. And hey, it even snows, with a record of 1.7 inches back in 1942! More recently, 19 of the last 30 Septembers have run warmer than average. Interestingly, we typically average one day in September with a high temp of 90 degrees or warmer in the Twin Cities.
This weekend will feel very much like summer with highs running nearly 10 to 15 degrees above average and a shot at 90 degrees on Sunday. The summery hangover lingers into next week with an increasing thunderstorm risk by the second half of next week before temperatures return to near-normal levels. Let’s enjoy summer’s last gasp!
