Coldest Air of the Season Blowing In

Coldest Air of the Season Blowing In

I have a strange sense of urgency to mow the lawn, rake the leaves, find and bury some acorns... take care of a few things before the chill. Are you ready? It'll be hard to say goodbye to our sublime September as temperatures plummet this afternoon/evening. A wind-whipped northwesterly breeze will signify the frontal passage and you'll know when it hits because the winds will be gusting to near 40mph at times. This will be the coldest push of air of the season with temperatures falling nearly 15 degrees from where we were earlier this weekend. Are you ready? Actual air temperatures will struggle to get into the 60's for most locations around Minnesota on Monday and with another bout of strong winds, it may even feel like the upper 40's for a time. There is a good chance that locations in central and northern Minnesota will have their first frost of the season on Tuesday morning. Are you ready? *SIGH* I don't think I am quite yet.


Looking at the Numbers

The image below shows the high and low temperatures over the next 7 days. I've circled the high temperatures for each day and put a blue box around the coldest days Monday and Tuesday. Yes, those are the HIGH temperatures expected for those days... Brr!


The Mighty BUFKIT

The image below is from one of my favorite weather models, BUFKIT. The neat thing about this interpretation is that we can go hour by hour to see temps, winds and moisture present at all levels of the atmosphere. I've stopped this particular model at 4pm Sunday to show the strong northwesterly winds expected at that time. The blue circle in the bottom right hand corner shows the wind direction in degrees (using the 360 degree compass) and the sustained wind speed. Winds will likely be sustained in the 25 mph range through the late afternoon with gusts to near 40mph, possibly even 50mph across the southwestern part of the state. Interestingly, it is also showing a bit of rain at that time too, but don't be alarmed if you're planning on taking the Light Rail back from Vikes game - it won't be much.


Todd's Outlook for the Twin Cities

Today: Increasing clouds with a spotty shower or two, better chance late, then gusty, turning cooler. Winds gust to 35+ High: 71 (falling into the 50s PM hours).

Tonight: Window rattler type of night, noisy, the kids may want an extra book at bed time. Low: 48

Monday: Blustery and cold with a little more sun. Winds gust from 20-40 mph. High: 60

Tuesday: Partly cloudy, winds ease a bit. High: 61

Wednesday: Fading sun, milder. High: near 67

Thursday: Showers possible. High: 66

Friday: Showers taper, turning breezy and cooler. High: near 62