Cold front; High Wind Watch; Indian Summer weekend; 70 by Sunday?
75F in Willmar Tuesday afternoon
70s west of an International Falls-Brainerd-St. Cloud-Fairmont line
Source: University of Utah
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60s in the Twin Cities metro
Cold front Wednesday - shower chances and cooler air slides in
High Wind Watch issued for Red River Valley
A few flakes? Cold enough for a few flurries early Thursday AM
Indian Summer Weekend temps near 70 again by Sunday!
Source: Grand Forks NWS
Winds of change:
After a delightfully pleasant Indian Summer Tuesday the gusty winds of autumn remind us it's mid-October Wednesday.
Low pressure and a cold front spinning south will generate high winds to 40mph in much of North Dakota, with gusts that may reach 60 mph at times. The Grand Forks NWS has issued High Wind Warnings and Watches that include the Red River Valley.
305 PM CDT TUE OCT 16 2012
...HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...
* STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND GUST TO AROUND 35 MPH. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTH BY THURSDAY MORNING AND INCREASE WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY ALONG AND WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY.
As the front spills into Minnesota Wednesday, temps will fall and wind & shower chances will rise. It's still not the multi inch soaking we need in Minnesota, but at least some measureable rain is in the forecast. The heaviest rains should favor northern Minnesota.
Source: NOAA/HPC
Indian Summer Weekend Taking Shape:
After a cool & blustery run Wednesday & Thursday, the weather will begin to mellow Friday.
By Saturday southerly winds will return, and a warming trend will kick in for the upcoming weekend.
Mixed sun should help temps crack 60 Saturday, and push 70 by Sunday afternoon.
The average high for Sunday at MSP is 56 degrees, so temps will run a good +10 vs. average by Sunday...good enough for true Indian Summer in my book.
This may be the last best weekend to get out and enjoy the colorful fall landscape and a great chance get those now rapidly falling leaves up from the lawn.
NOAA opens new Weather & Climate Prediction Center:
NOAA cut the ribbon on a new facility that will be the backbone for weather and climate forecasting Tuesday. Some details.
NOAA's world-class weather and climate prediction center opens at University of Maryland in College Park
The 268,000 square-foot building is home to more than 800 employees of NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction who provide the nation with a broad range of environmental services - from predicting the hurricane season and El Niño/La Niña to forecasting ocean currents and large-scale rain and snow storms. Billions of earth observations from around the world flow through environmental models, developed and managed in the new building, that support the nation's weather forecasts.
Scientists at the center also predict how hazardous materials move in the atmosphere, conduct air quality modeling, study climate variability, monitor and predict movement of volcanic ash, and research new ways to use satellite information to safeguard the environment. Scientists also monitor hurricane and tropical cyclones worldwide and analyze fire and smoke plumes from wildfires, which NOAA satellites track.
PH