Bumpy weather week, October outbreak ahead

Buckle up Minnesota, September kicks into high gear this week.

Time to strap on your weather helmets once again as the jet stream plays hopscotch overhead. This week we skip September, and fast forward like an out of control weather DVR from August to October in the span of 24 hours tomorrow into Wednesday.

Fall-like storm system

Blindfold a meteorologist and sit them in front of a computer looking at this week's maps and take away all the dates. Now have them guess what month they are looking at. Most would probably say October.

Here's a look at the unusually potent, wrapped up low pressure system for early September that rolls through this week.

Showers and thunderstorms become more widespread by late Tuesday. This system has all the looks of late October. A big "rain shield" spins up over Minnesota. Embedded thunderstorms will produce some heavy rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches-plus across the region Tuesday night.

Rain totals of more than 3 inches are not out of the question in southeast Minnesota, where flash flood watches may go up by tomorrow.

Here's a look at the threat for heavy rain, and a few severe storms from the La Crosse, Wisconsin, National Weather Service.

The highest risk for severe storms favors southeast Minnesota and Iowa tomorrow, but a few strong storms may creep as far north as the Twin Cities.

The model output suggest a rapidly developing rain shield with embedded thunderstorms moving in by late Tuesday. Here's the multi-model output for the Twin Cities, a quick burst of some 1 inch rainfall totals during a stormy Tuesday night.

Fast  forward fall- gales of October Wednesday

Winds turn north behind the potent storm Wednesday. Wednesday will feel more like mid to late October as temps fall through the 50s under a ragged sky and a raw sustained north wind of more than 15 miles per hour, gusting to over 30 mph.

Instant fall

Yes, you may wonder if you slept through September when you wake up Thursday morning. Temps will plummet this week, and widespread frost is likely outside the metro Friday and Saturday morning. In case you're wondering, Thursday's projected high of 55 degrees is the average Twin Cities high for Oct. 22.

Don't panic just yet mild weather fans. Next weekend looks crisp but nice with highs in the 60s. Warmer west winds blow by next week, and temps should crack the 70-degree mark once again.