Soggy today, fall reality check arrives next week
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By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer. -Helen Hunt Jackson
Indeed the calendar says September. The atmosphere overhead is still stuck in June. Welcome to another day of tropical humidity levels with dew points pushing 70 degrees. Throw in another wave or two of heavy downpours. Par for the course for the soggy Summer of 2016.
The good news for rain weary Upper Midwesterners? The sun returns tomorrow. And an even longer drier spell kicks in this weekend and could last most of next week. Your sump pump will finally get some rest.
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Meteorological autumn began on September 1st. By Saturday, you'll feel the change in seasons, as highs struggle to climb out of the 60s on brisk northwest winds.
Next week feels more like October. Seasonal reality check ahead.
Two more rain waves
The twin Cities metro rides between two rain waves today. The first batch dumped heavy rains again along the Iowa border into this morning. Several locations in northern Iowa and far southeast Minnesota picked up another 2" to 5"+ deluge.
Flash flood warnings were issued this morning by the La Crosse NWS.
Once again, the heaviest rain zone looks to stay mostly south of the Twin Cities today. Here's NOAA's NAM 4 km resolution rainfall output. Flooding remains a threat, the same waterlogged areas could pick up more multi-inch rainfall.
A second wave of storms forms in the eastern Dakotas this afternoon and surges east toward the metro tonight.
Sun returns tomorrow
Today's low pressure wave clears out of here overnight tonight. We come up for air tomorrow with glorious sunshine and a drier air mass. The next rain wave arrives with scattered showers Friday.
Nicer weekend
Friday's showers may linger into very early Saturday. But an early fall Canadian high pressure cell blows in on brisk northwest winds Saturday.
Seasonal reality check next week
You'll be reminded it is actually September next week. Northwest flow aloft brings the most vigorous cool front of the season by next Tuesday. We feel like a bit of weather shock the Twin Cities highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s next Tuesday.
Stay tuned.
Color splashes up north?
The first fall color map of the season came out today. 'Nuff said.
Experts I've talked with say this should be another good year for fall color. The abundant rainfall means trees are full and lush. If we dry out this fall, it should be another great show. Truth be told, for all the talk about variance in fall color in Minnesota based on different weather conditions, I can't recall a bad year.
Fall color in Minnesota usually puts on a great show.