A bright weekend; update on the NWS tornado survey
It was a chilly Saturday morning all across Minnesota.
The official low temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 45 degrees, and it was a few degrees cooler than that in some of the outlying parts of the metro area.
Northeastern Minnesota had a lot of lower 30s early Saturday morning, and Hibbing dropped to 27 degrees.
Our Sunday morning lows won't be as chilly.
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Temperature trends
Saturday afternoon highs will reach the 60s across most of Minnesota, with some 50s in the far north.
Highs in the 70s return to the southern half of Minnesota Sunday afternoon:
Parts of far northern Minnesota will have highs in the 50s.
Roughly the southeastern half of Minnesota should see highs in the 70s on Monday:
Our average high temp is 69 degrees this time of year in the Twin Cities metro area.
Twin Cities high temps are expected to be in the lower 60s Tuesday through Friday.
Rain chances
Scattered showers are possible Saturday afternoon and evening in the far north, near the Canadian border.
Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR news live weather blog.
The chance of scattered showers will spread into more of north-central and northeastern Minnesota overnight Saturday night and on Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday evening through Sunday evening:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain.
Tornado survey results
The National Weather Service hasn't completed their survey of the Thursday evening tornado damage in southern Minnesota. The NWS has confirmed five tornadoes thus far, but that total could rise as they survey more areas over the next few days.
Here's the most recent NWS tornado summary for September 20:
As of 850 PM, Friday, September 21, 2018, damage survey teams from the NWS were in the process of surveying areas of damage across the area impacted by the storms. Thus far, five tornadoes have been confirmed, near Granada, MN, near Morristown, MN, near Faribault, MN, near Lake Elysian/Waterville, MN and near Medford/Nerstrand, MN. Radar data and spotter reports indicated that additional tornadoes may have occurred with the storms, and survey teams will make the final determination as to if, when, and where they occurred. This page will be updated as new information is received.
There was one tornado rated at least EF-2:
The NWS will be posting updated information on the September 20 tornadoes here.
Fall colors
The autumnal equinox is at 8:54 p.m. CDT this Saturday evening. It marks the beginning of astronomical autumn.
Right on cue, some nice fall color is showing up in parts of northern Minnesota.
The fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shows the areas with the most widespread fall color:
Keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included in the fall color report, not just maples.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.