Partly soggy, hints of Indian summer ahead

No doubt about it, we can count last weekend as one of the nicer weekends of the fall in Minnesota. Sunshine, bursting colors and pleasantly cool temps.

Does it get any better than this?

Hit or miss

Living in Minnesota often feels like a game of weather bingo. Lately, it's all or nothing. If your number is called buckle up. If not, continue to watch the landscape dry up again until the next monsoon.

Evenly spaced gentle soaking rains of yesteryear? What a concept.

Two separate waves of rain visit different parts of Minnesota today. The first wave is bringing some welcome rainfall to the Northland from Nisswa to the Iron Range and Ely.

The second wave brings a good soaking rain to far southeast Minnesota, with heavy totals from eastern Iowa to Madison, Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Chicago.

The low pressure system responsible for the main southern rain shield brushes southeast Minnesota today and tonight. The southerly track means most of the significant meaningful rainfall totals shy away from  the Twin Cities.

• -5.33 inches Twin Cities rainfall vs. average July through September

Verge of drought

Again this late summer and fall, much of Minnesota is now trending toward drought. This has been a strong trend in recent years. We get soaked, even flooded in spring and early summer. Then somebody turns off the faucet in late summer. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows parts of Minnesota trending toward drought once again this fall.

Hints of Indian summer this week

The dryness continues after today's clouds and rain in the north and southeast. Minnesota is wedged between weather systems this week. The result should be plenty of sunshine Tuesday through Thursday, with highs warming through the 60s. We cool off into the weekend, but so far I don't see any big scary October arctic fronts lurking on the horizon.

Easing gently into fall this year? Most Minnesotans seem to be okay with that.