70s linger through the weekend; Florence track is shifting

Our high temps will be stuck in the 70s for a few days, but that's not unusual in September.

Our average high this time of year is 75 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area. Local air conditioners will remain in rest mode for awhile.

Temperature trends 

Highs across most of Minnesota should reach the lower 70s Friday afternoon, with some upper 60s in the far north. A few spots in southern Minnesota could touch the mid 70s.

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Saturday highs are also expected to be mainly in the lower 70s:

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A few 60s are possible to the northeast.

A similar high temperature pattern is on tap for Sunday:

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Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area could reach about 73 on Saturday and 75 on Sunday.

Meteorological summer (June through August) is over. Astronomical summer doesn’t end until September 22. It’ll probably feel like summer next Tuesday through Thursday, with Twin Cities highs in the lower 80s and dew point temps in the 60s.

Rain chances

Scattered showers are possible this Friday and Friday evening in northern Minnesota, and an isolated thunderstorm will also be possible.

Saturday and Sunday should be rain-free across most of Minnesota, except in the northwest.  Northwestern Minnesota could see a passing shower Saturday and the northwest could see scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm Sunday afternoon and evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday morning through Sunday evening:

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NOAA GFS precipitation rate (mm/hour) Saturday morning through Sunday evening, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the precipitation rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain.

The latest on Florence

Hurricane Florence has weakened to tropical storm strength, but it's expected to return to hurricane strength by late Saturday. Florence will probably have major hurricane strength as it passes south of Bermuda early next week.

Here’s the projected track of Florence over the next five days, from the National Hurricane Center:

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NWS National Hurricane Center

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model and NOAA's GFS forecast model are both trending toward a track that brings Hurricane Florence toward the East Coast of the U.S. later next week:

Check for updates from the National Hurricane Center.

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.