Warm, Sunny Start To September - Rain Possible Friday - Fantastic Labor Day Weekend

While the calendar turns to September (and meteorological fall, which runs September 1 - November 30) on Thursday, it's going to feel more like summer across the region. Morning temperatures start off in the low 60s before climbing to the upper 80s under lots of blue skies and sunshine.

A mainly sunny and quite warm first day of September is expected statewide with highs from the upper 70s to low 90s - 5-15F degrees above average to begin meteorological fall.

_______________________________________________

Forecast loop from 7 AM Friday to 7 PM Friday.

A cold front will move across the state on Friday, bringing the potential of a few showers and maybe an isolated storm with it as we head throughout the day.

Ahead of that front, temperatures on Friday will climb once again into the 80s across the southern two-thirds of the state - but you can start to see more comfortable weather starting to move into northwestern Minnesota behind it.

_______________________________________________

As we head into Labor Day weekend... I'm kind of actually shocked that it's going to be quiet and nice out! Mainly sunny skies are expected Saturday through Labor Day Monday for that last hurrah of summer. Behind the frontal boundary that moves through Friday, temperatures will be in the 70s Saturday and Sunday, climbing back up to around 80F on Monday. As kids go back to school on Tuesday... another mainly sunny day is expected with highs in the mid-80s.

A more detailed look at Labor Day shows sunny skies throughout the day with morning temperatures in the 60s and temperatures climbing through the 70s to low 80s as we head through the afternoon.

_______________________________________________

When we shake out the month of August (numbers do not include the last day of the month on Wednesday), it has ended up being fairly average in the Twin Cities. Through the 30th, it was the 41st warmest August-to-date on record for the Twin Cities and the 48th wettest.

As we look at precipitation statewide, rain fell heavily in parts of the state. Most of the eastern and northern parts were around to above average, with below-average pockets in western Minnesota. In Rochester, it is the 8th wettest August to date (through the 30th).

_______________________________________________

It's that time of year... the pumpkin spice is back, the kids are (shortly) heading back to school, and the Minnesota DNR Fall Color Map is starting to update! Not a lot of detail in the two reports so far from Fort Ridgely and Bear Head Lake State Parks, but within a few weeks, this map is bound to get busy! You can keep your eye on this map over the next several weeks from the MN DNR by clicking here.

Here's a handy map of typical peak fall colors from the MN DNR. This ranges from mid/late September in far northern Minnesota to mid-October in southern parts of the state.

_______________________________________________

September Magic Spills Into Next Week
By Paul Douglas

Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures " wrote Henry David Thoreau. We will all be basking away into next week with some of the finest weather of the year at our beck and call. I know we still need rain, but it's hard to get too indignant about a postcard-perfect sky.

While California bakes under 100-115F heat, Minnesota will enjoy 80s, even a few 70s this weekend with a fresh breeze. A thunderstorm may bubble up south/east of MSP Friday night, but the pattern isn't ripe for significant rain anytime soon.

I have 3.74" in my rain gauge for August. MSP picked up 4.27" - normal for the month. Meteorological Summer (June 1 - September 1) was the 17th warmest and 9th driest since 1872, according to the Twin Cities National Weather Service. We've picked up 17 days at or above 90F, and I suspect we'll add a few more.

Summer is tired, the heat is fading. But before the inevitable flakes of October we get to enjoy one long meteorological encore. Thank you September.

_______________________________________________

Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Warm sunshine. Wake up 64. High 88. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Sticky sun, T-storm risk Friday night. Wake up 69. High 89. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SW 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY: Blue sky with a cooler breeze. Wake up 60. High 75. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NE 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: Sunny and comfortable. Wake up 57. High 77. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Mix of clouds and sunshine. Wake up 62. High 82. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly sunny and summery. Wake up 67. High 86. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 8-13 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Blue sky, downright hot. Wake up 68. High 90. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SW 8-13 mph.

_______________________________________________

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
September 1st

*Length Of Day: 13 hours, 14 minutes, and 40 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 0 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 13 Hours Of Daylight?: September 6th (12 hours, 59 minutes, 29 seconds)
*When Does The Sun Start Rising At/After 7 AM?: September 22nd (7:00 AM)
*When Does The Sun Start Setting At/Before 7 PM?: September 27th (7:00 PM)

_______________________________________________

This Day in Weather History
September 1st

1926: Perhaps the most intense rainfall rate ever in downtown Minneapolis falls on this date. 1.02 inches of rain is recorded in six minutes, starting at 2:59pm in the afternoon according to the Minneapolis Weather Bureau. The deluge, accompanied with winds of 42 mph, causes visibility to be reduced to a few feet at times and stops all streetcar and automobile traffic. At the intersection of Second and Sixth Streets in downtown Minneapolis, rushing water tears a manhole cover off, and a geyser of water shoots 20 feet in the air. Hundreds of wooden paving blocks are uprooted and float onto neighboring lawns, much to the delight of barefooted children seen scampering among the blocks after the rain ends.

1894: The Great Hinckley Fire. Drought conditions start a massive fire that begins near Mille Lacs and spreads to the east. The firestorm destroys Hinckley and Sandstone and burns a forest area the size of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Smoke from the fires brings shipping on Lake Superior to a standstill.

1807: The earliest known comprehensive Minnesota weather record begins near Pembina. The temperature at midday is 86 degrees, with a 'strong wind until sunset.'

_______________________________________________

High pressure dominates across a good portion of the lower 48 as we head through Thursday. The best rain chances will be in the South Central and Southeastern regions, where a frontal boundary and a couple of areas of low pressure will be located.

That frontal boundary in the southern United States will be the focus for the heaviest rain through Friday, with the potential of over 3" in some locations. In parts of Texas, this could lead to flooding. Most of the rest of the nation will be dry from late Wednesday into Friday due to that area of high pressure.

_______________________________________________

A New Way to Measure Heat Risks for People

More from Scientific American: "For all the images of ski resorts and snow-capped peaks, Colorado is experiencing shorter winters and hotter summers that are increasingly putting people at risk for heat-related illnesses. Yet until this year, the National Weather Service hadn't issued a heat advisory for the Denver metropolitan area in 13 years. That's because the heat index commonly used by the weather service to gauge the health risks of hot weather relies on temperature and humidity. Colorado's climate is so dry that reaching the thresholds for that kind of heat advisory is nearly impossible. But this year, the National Weather Service in Colorado adopted a prototype heat warning index, known as HeatRisk, that is used in California and other parts of the Western U.S. and relies on local climate data to determine how much hotter than normal the temperature will be and what the hazards could be to people."

A New Mexico Town Is About to Run Out of Drinking Water

More from Gizmodo: "A town in New Mexico is facing a triple punch of climate impacts from wildfire, drought, and intense rainfall. The city of Las Vegas, New Mexico is set to run out of drinking water in September, thanks to pollution and debris from the largest wildfire in state history. Some residents at the fringes of Las Vegas, a city some 65 miles (105 kilometers) to the west of Santa Fe, were forced to evacuate in May as the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire raged close by. The city gets its water primarily from a reservoir that feeds off the nearby Gallinas River. The river has now been contaminated by runoff from flooding on the burn scar of the fire, after intense rains in late July fell on the same region burned by the fire just a few months before."

First Solar announces new U.S. panel factory following the Inflation Reduction Act

More from CNBC: "First Solar announced Tuesday that it will build a new solar panel manufacturing facility in the U.S. on the heels of the Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivizes domestic manufacturing. The company will invest up to $1 billion in the new factory, which it plans to build in the Southeast of the U.S. The newly announced plant will be the panel maker's fourth fully integrated U.S. factory. First Solar also said Tuesday that it will spend $185 million upgrading and expanding its existing facilities in Ohio."

_______________________________________________

Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

- D.J. Kayser