Got tomatoes? Frost possible

Frost is possible in the northern part of the state tonight - and there's a chance for the metro area, too.

Last update: September 8, 2008 - 11:39 AM

Last Monday, we were sweating at the fair. Today we'll be shrouding the tomatoes, plumping up the sweaters, maybe even burping the furnace.

"We're definitely going to see frost in northern Minnesota [tonight], and it's very possible here too, depending on cloud cover," meteorologist Matt Friedlein said Sunday from the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen. "The urban heat island may prevent it in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but in the outlying metro area, spots like Chanhassen and Rogers, yes, I'd cover the tomatoes, definitely."

Isn't it a little early for frost?

Yes, Friedlein said. On average, northwestern Minnesota sees its first frost between Sept. 18 and 23; the metro area usually gets bit in early October. Today's high of 60 will be the lowest high since June 3, when the high only got to 61.

Any good news for those still wistful for balmy days and warm evenings?

Sure, Friedlein said. The rest of the week will see a gradual warming trend, with Wednesday's high "poking at the lower 70s," he said.

Thunderstorms are likely Wednesday and Thursday, good news because rainfall at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is still 5.86 inches below normal for the year, he said.

A chilly week doesn't mean 80-degree days are gone till 2009. Typically, hot weather surges back in now and then right into October, he said.

So don't put the lawn chairs away yet. But do cover those tomatoes.

PAMELA MILLER