Sunny skies and milder breezes help dry soggy fields

These are challenging days to be a farmer in Minnesota.

Last year was the wettest year on record for some Minnesota locations; 2017 continued that trend for much of central and southern Minnesota. October has already dumped above average rainfall for the entire month across a big swath of the state.

Our weekend rain delivered another soaking.

Many locations across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest set daily rainfall records this month.

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10 16 Oct rain records
Midwest Regional Climate Center

Drier breezes this week

This week brings just what the weather doctor ordered for Minnesota farmers. Sunshine, milder temps and a dry breezes blow most of this week.  The at a glance forecast is ideal for mid-October.

10 16 msp

Southwest breezes

Think of our weather pattern this week as an atmospheric blow dryer. A fairly persistent drying south to southwest breeze blows across the prairie through Friday.

10 16 10 m wind
NOAA GFS model 10-meter winds via tropical tidbits.

Indian summer

This week qualifies as Indian summer by most definitions. Sunshine and the increasingly mild inbound air mass help boost daytime high temps into the 70s this week. The average high for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this week is 57 degrees. Temps run 10 to 15 degrees warmer than average this week.

10 16 wx
NOAA forecast temps for MSP Airport via Weather Bell.

Mild into next week

The upper air pattern suggests milder than average air will linger over Minnesota into next week. There are signs of a cooler shot late next week into the weekend of Oct. 28. But overall, the first few days of next week are trending milder than average, with highs in the 60s likely across Minnesota. The cooler than average trend in the Rockies may work east toward Minnesota after that.

10 16 610temp.new
NOAA

Twin Cities: Freeze around Oct. 28?

We've already had a killing freeze across most of Minnesota. The inner Twin Cities urban core has managed to escaped a freeze so far. If the longer range guidance is right, the growing season in the inner metro core could end with a killing freeze the weekend of Oct. 28.

10 16 16
NOAA GFS via Meteostar.

Stay tuned.