Brighter and warmer on Sunday

Cook county in far northeastern Minnesota saw some soaking rains this Saturday morning. The steady rains should move on this afternoon, but scattered showers will still be possible over northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

Here is a summary from the Duluth office of the National Weather Service:

Western Minnesota will have the most Saturday sunshine, with a mix of clouds and sun in east-central and southeastern Minnesota by this afternoon.

A low pressure system to our northeast will move away today:

Sunday will be the sunniest day of the weekend for most of Minnesota, with a shower chance over far northern Minnesota late in the day. The Twin Cities could see a shower late Sunday night.

Weekend temps

Saturday will be the coolest day this weekend:

60s will be common in the north, with some spots in southern Minnesota reaching the lower 70s.

NOAA’s NAM forecast model shows southerly winds developing on Sunday ahead of a low-pressure system over the Dakotas:

With southerly winds and plenty of sunshine, high temperatures will top 80 degrees on Sunday in parts of southern Minnesota:

Low to mid 70s are on tap for far northern Minnesota.

The Twin Cities should see some sunshine and highs in the mid to upper 70s Monday and Tuesday. There is a good chance of occasional showers and thunderstorms Wednesday through Friday, with highs in the lower 70s.

Autumnal equinox Thursday

The astronomical beginning of fall, also known as the autumnal equinox, is at 9:21 a.m. CDT on Thursday.

EarthSky.org has a detailed discussion of the equinox.

Here are a few excerpts:

Because Earth doesn’t orbit upright, but is instead tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres trade places throughout the year in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly.

We have an equinox twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun.

Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays about equally around equinox-time. The sun is overhead at noon as seen from the equator. Night and day are approximately equal in length.

The name equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).

You might have heard that we had our full moon yesterday, commonly referred to as the "harvest moon" this time of year. The moon will be almost full tonight, rising at 8:05 p.m. CDT.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday on Minnesota Public Radio.