Chilly start Saturday, milder “Supermoon” weekend ahead

The longest growing season on record in the Twin Cities will get a scare Saturday morning.

Temperatures will hover near or slightly above 32 degrees at MSP Airport early Saturday morning. The latest model data suggests temps may bottom out just above freezing at MSP in the low to mid 30s.

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Graphic: NOAA

  • 212 days 2016 growing season at MSP Airport

  • 207 days previous record for longest growing season (1900)

  • 36 degrees - lowest temp recorded at MSP Airport so far this fall (multiple dates)

  • 35 degrees - NOAA GFS forecast low temp at MSP Saturday morning

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My hunch is that a southwest breeze will kick in late tonight across Minnesota and may be enough to stir the lower atmosphere and keep temps just above 32 degrees at MSP overnight. If that happens, the longest growing season on record in the Twin Cities could continue for another week.

A 219 day growing season in the Twin Cities this year? Just wow.

Another warm front

High pressure sprawls over the USA this weekend. Southwest flow behind the high pumps in milder air once again.

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NOAA

It's yet another million-dollar fall weekend in Minnesota. Temps will push 60 again in the Twin Cities Sunday afternoon.

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Mild through next week

A ridge of mild high pressure in the upper atmosphere returns to the central USA next week.

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NOAA

Temperatures continue to run 10 to 20 degrees warmer than average next week, we may hit 60 again Sunday and next Tuesday beofre colder temps arrive next weekend into Thanksgiving week.

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Custom Weather

An upper level low pressure system still looks likely to descend over the Upper Midwest next weekend. At this point, a cold rain is looking more likely than snow.

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NOAA

NOAA's 16-day output continues to crank out colder temps for Thanksgiving week that are closer to seasonal norms. Nothing bitter, but more like late November.

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NOAA via IPS Meteostar

Once the cold air is in place we'll have to keep an eye out for possible snow systems riding in from the west.

Rare Supermoon this weekend

The brightest Supermoon in a lifetime waxes toward full early Monday morning. So called Supermoons are bigger and brighter because the moon's orbital path is closer to earth.

Here's more from NASA on this weekends Supermoon of a lifetime.

November Supermoon a Spectacular Sight

The moon is a familiar sight in our sky, brightening dark nights and reminding us of space exploration, past and present. But the upcoming supermoon — on Monday, Nov. 14 — will be especially “super” because it’s the closest full moon to Earth since 1948. We won’t see another supermoon like this until 2034.

The moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth it is known as a supermoon. At perigree — the point at which the moon is closest to Earth — the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet. The full moon appears that much larger in diameter and because it is larger shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth.