A windy stretch; rain and snow shower chance early Saturday

Some us will have a bad hair day Friday.

Winds will also muss up our hair this weekend, and make leaf-raking a challenge. The coldest winds will be on Saturday.

Temperature trends

Highs in the 50s are expected across most of northern Minnesota this Friday afternoon. The south will see some lower 60s.

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A cold front will sweep through Minnesota later Friday. Saturday highs will be well below normal, with 30s north and lower 40s in southern Minnesota:

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High temps rebound nicely on Sunday, with some 40s and lots of 50s north and lower 60s to the south:

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Our average high temperature in the Twin Cities metro area is 56 degrees on Oct. 21.

I'm projecting Twin Cities highs in the mid 50s next Monday, followed by upper 40s Tuesday and mid 50s Wednesday and Thursday.

Rain and snow chances

Scattered rain showers are expected to move into northern Minnesota this Friday evening, then spread southward overnight and mix with snow. There will be a chance of rain/snow showers Saturday morning in eastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area, and western Wisconsin

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Friday evening through Saturday morning:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar from Friday evening through Saturday morning, via tropicaltidbits

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 or snow.

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.

Winter outlook

NOAA's winter outlook favors a warmer than normal December through February in Minnesota:

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NOAA

The outlook refers to the average temperature over the December through February time frame.

There can be some stretches of very cold temps within a warmer than normal winter.

In the Twin Cities metro area, NOAA shows that our odds of a warmer-than-normal winter are almost twice as high as our odds of a colder than normal winter:

Do you feel lucky?

Fall colors

Strong winds could take down a lot of leaves over the next couple of days.

If you’re planning some leaf-peeping in Minnesota, you’ll be interested in the latest fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

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Minnesota DNR

Keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included in the fall color report, not just maples.

Wisconsin fall color report is also available.

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.