Freeze warnings tonight; NWS confirms 16 tornadoes last Thursday
Cover up those petunias tonight!
Most of Minnesota will see the season's first frost and freeze early Saturday morning. Freeze warnings and frost advisories cover most of the Upper Midwest tonight. The freeze warning includes the Twin Cities.
Including the cities of Morris, Glenwood, Elk River, Cambridge,
Center City, Madison, Benson, Montevideo, Willmar, Litchfield,
Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater,
Granite Falls, Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chaska, Shakopee,
Hastings, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, Owatonna, Osceola,
Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Prescott, Menomonie,
Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire
308 PM CDT Fri Sep 28 2018
...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 9 AM CDT
SATURDAY...
* TEMPERATURE...Around 30 degrees late tonight.
* IMPACTS...Vegetation may be damaged or killed if left
unprotected.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Temperatures in the inner metro core may still hover just above freezing overnight. The best bet if you want to save any sensitive plants is to cover them tonight. The average date for the first 32-degree temperature in fall at MSP Airport is October 10.
Another 1-2 weeks above freezing?
Those areas that (narrowly) escape a killing frost tonight may enjoy another 1 to 2 weeks of above freezing temperatures. This weekend will be chilly with highs in the 50s. But milder air pushes back in next week. Highs should reach into the 70s by next Wednesday. For a day.
Rainy next week
We'll dodge a few light rain showers this weekend across Minnesota. But stronger systems move in next week. Right now rain looks likely Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week. Tuesday and Thursday look like the sunnier nicer days next week. Many locations in Minnesota could pick up 1 to 2-inches of rainfall next week.
The Canadian GEM model depicts 3 separate low-pressure waves moving across Minnesota next week.
Tornado update: 16 tornadoes found from September 20 outbreak
The Twin Cities NWS updated the tornado count from last Thursday's tornado outbreak. The number now stands at an impressive 16 tornadoes. Some were on the ground for more than 25 miles.
Here's the latest from Friday afternoon's updated report.
Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
413 PM CDT Fri Sep 28 2018
...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 09/20/2018 TORNADO EVENT - UPDATE 2...
...TORNADO COUNT STANDS AT 16...
.Update...Following several ground surveys; utilizing high
resolution satellite and radar imagery; speaking with local
officials, trained spotters, and the general public; and drone and
aerial footage it appears there were 16 tornadoes from southern
to eastern Minnesota and west central Wisconsin on September 20
2018. This information may be updated as new data becomes
available.
The difficulty with surveying this event was due in part to many
potential tornado tracks amongst widespread wind damage. Since the
storms were racing east northeastward around 65 mph, many of the
typical indicators for differentiating tornado versus straight
line wind damage were not available (e.g. debris deposited
westward), particularly across Rice County. Instead, there were
areas of enhanced damage on the southern end of the tornado track,
with little damage to the north. Most of the damage was to trees,
although there were pockets of significant structural damage.
Survey teams received numerous accounts of survivors seeking
shelter immediately after receiving the Tornado Warning via a
Wireless Emergency Alert notification. Some of these people later
had their house or other structure significantly damaged or
destroyed. It is of the opinion of the surveyors that this was one
big factor for the lack of fatalities or injuries.
The NWS would like to thank all the spotters, local officials,
broadcast television, local media, volunteer and media drone
operators, and citizens that contributed to the sharing of
information before, during, and after the event.
It's amazing that no-one was injured or killed in this significant tornado outbreak. The Twin Cities NWS did an outstanding job with lead times on tornado warnings. Local media did a great job previewing the threat in the days leading up to the outbreak, and with delivering warnings on-air that evening.
Last Thursday's tornado outbreak is a success story for modern meteorology.