October reality check; coldest Halloween in 8 years?

That thud you hear outside today is the sound of the other (weather) shoe dropping.

We've led charmed weather lives in Minnesota so far this autumn. Sunny mild days. Tranquil breezes. Cool, starry nights.

Welcome back to the Crazy Weather Year of 2014 , Minnesota's very own weather reality show.

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A steel gray sky and angry win whipping up whitecaps on Lake Mille Lacs. http://mnlakecams.com/

Gone, for now, are the days of temps teasing the 70 degree mark. Temps this week slide to early November levels, and recent 60-plus degrees warmth is pushed south of Chicago.

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NOAA

The weather culprit? A strong wrapped up low pressure storm spinning toward James Bay and the sub-arctic regions of Canada. Minnesota lies in the tight (windy and cool) pressure gradient behind the low today.

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NOAA

Yes we have some new colors on the weather map today. The purple shades above indicate snow. An inch or so will fall in parts of the BWCA tonight, with 3 to 6 inches possible north of Canada's Thunder Bay.

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wxcaster.com

More November than October

The next week has the look and feel of early November on the weather maps. Considering November starts Saturday, that's par for the weather course.

Here's the version of events through next Monday from NOAA's Global Forecast System:

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Weatherspark

Scary cold Halloween

OK, maybe not that cold, but it will get your attention. The Walking Dead zombies will be moving along at a surprisingly good pace Friday evening. Honing in on trick-or-treat temps, it looks like upper 30s as the sun disappears on October Friday evening.

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Weatherspark

The latest read on Halloween temperatures suggests a high of around 42 degrees Friday, at best, at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model is even colder, suggesting upper 30s.

If we stay below 44 for the high Friday it will be the coldest Halloween in 8 years, since the mercury stalled at 36 degrees in 2006.

Here are the Halloween numbers from the Minnesota Climatology Working Group.

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Halloween temps going back to 1990. Minnesota Climate Working Group.

Boo!