Douglas: With chilly gusts, it’ll feel like fall at last

By Todd Nelson, filling in for Douglas:

Was it my imagination or were the clouds actually leaking on Saturday? Believe it or not, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported rain for the first time since Sept. 24. Unfortunately, it was only a trace. The last time the metro area saw measurable precipitation was on Sept. 19. Since Sept. 1, MSP has only registered 0.06 inches of rain, which is the driest start to any meteorological fall on record (the driest was 1.36 inches back in 2011). And to think, this is on the heels of what was our seventh-wettest summer on record with 18.25 inches of rain. Feast or famine, I guess.

A secondary shot of chilly air will ride in on strong northwest winds Sunday. It’ll be a window-rattler with gusts approaching 40 mph at times. I wouldn’t be shocked to hear rumblings of snow flurries up north early Monday either. Our first statewide frost and freeze may be imminent on Tuesday morning with the exception of the metro area due to the urban heat island effect.

Long-range Pinocchio models may be fibbing, but it looks 70s will return with a real chance of rain later this week. Stay tuned!