Strong Storms Thursday Night - Near 90F Sunday?

A couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be possible on Thursday - one in the early morning hours and another late in the day into the overnight hours. A few of the storms late in the day could be on the strong side. Otherwise, sunnier skies are expected during the midday hours. Temperatures start off in the mid-60s and climb into the low 80s for highs.

We will watch some rounds of rain across the state on Thursday:

Highs will range from the upper 60s up in far northern Minnesota to near 90F in southwest Minnesota.

As mentioned above, some of the storms late in the day to the overnight hours could be on the strong side. We do have a Slight Risk of severe weather (threat level 2 of 5) in place. Large hail and damaging winds are the main threat, but a few tornadoes can't be ruled out.

_______________________________________________

Saturday will be the cooler day of the weekend with highs in the 70s with some clouds passing through at times. Sunday looks hot, humid, breezy, and sunny with highs climbing into the upper 80s. On average, we do see one day in the month of September with a high in the 90s. The latest 90F on record is October 10 back on 1928.

Dewpoints will climb as we head into the second half of the weekend, with 60F dewpoints expected to move in as soon as late Saturday lasting into Sunday. Some models have dewpoints reaching at least the mid-60s at times Sunday into early next week. So you will definitely notice a bit more humidity!

Portions of the North Shore and Northwestern Minnesota have 25-50% color, with more areas of color popping up across the state. Below is a picture submitted to the DNR from Lake Bronson State Park. You can follow the MN DNR Fall Color Finder throughout the fall color season by clicking here.

_______________________________________________

Strong Storms Tonight - Near 90F Sunday?
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

Did you know that using the 30-year average, the Twin Cities typically sees one day in September with a 90F degree high? However, we have to go back to 2018 for the last occurrence - that year actually saw two 90s in September! The latest 90F high on record was back on October 10th, 1928.

Why am I bringing up random 90F degree September facts? Well, warmth and humidity will surge in for the second half of the weekend, and we could get near 90F for a high on Sunday.

Highs remain in the 80s to begin next week before a mid-week system brings more precipitation and the return of Autumn-like temperatures. Just in time - the Autumnal Equinox is officially at 2:20 PM next Wednesday!

_______________________________________________

D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Windy. Overnight storms. Wake up 64. High 82. Chance of precipitation 80%. Wind S 15-30 mph.

FRIDAY: Lingering AM rain. PM clearing skies. Wake up 62. High 70. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind N 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: Breezy, warm, humid, and sunny. Wake up 68. High 88. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 10-20 mph.

MONDAY: A few passing clouds. Wake up 70. High 86. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 10-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Roaming showers and t-storms. Wake up 66. High 80. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind S 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Scattered showers. Cooler. Wake up 57. High 68. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind W 5-15 mph.

_______________________________________________

*Length Of Day: 12 hours, 27 minutes, and 59 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 5 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 12 Hours Of Daylight? September 26th (11 hours, 56 minutes, and 56 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/After 7:00 AM?: September 22nd (7:00 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/Before 7:00 PM?: September 27th (7:00 PM)

_______________________________________________

This Day in Weather History
September 16th

2006: A rapidly forming tornado hits Rogers just before 10pm, causing one fatality.

1955: An F1 tornado touches down in Mille Lacs and Kanabec Counties, causing 1 fatality and $500,000 in damages.

_______________________________________________

What is left of Nicholas will continue to impact portions of the lower Mississippi Valley/central Gulf Coast on Thursday, bringing more rounds of rain that could lead to flooding. Showers and storms will also be possible in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and upper Midwest. Rain and higher elevation snow will be possible in the Pacific Northwest.

The heaviest rain through the end of the week will continue to be down along the central Gulf Coast, where rainfall amounts from Wednesday through Friday could top 6" in some locations. That could lead to flash flooding. We're also watching for some heavier rain in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest.

_______________________________________________

More from the New York Times: "Climate change may not be the easiest subject to laugh about, but a group of late-night hosts are teaming up in hopes of raising awareness about the issue and even finding some humor in it. On Sept. 22, seven of the network and cable late-night shows will take part in Climate Night, during which each of these programs will have a focus on climate change and produce their own original content on the topic."

Rooftop solar systems survived Hurricane Ida; in blackout, some powered neighbors, too

More from NOLA.com: "Jenel Hazlett didn't have time to evacuate her family and their little zoo of pets as Hurricane Ida rapidly strengthened. Instead, they rode out the Category 4 storm in their house in New Orleans' North Carrollton neighborhood. When Ida crippled a major Entergy electricity tower and transmission lines, it sentenced much of southeast Louisiana to a week or more of heat and darkness. But the Hazlett family's 37 rooftop solar panels made the blackout bearable, channeling the sun's energy down to two thin white lithium batteries that kept portions of the house powered."

The Kids Are Not Alright

More from Gizmodo: "If you spent even 10 minutes at one of the youth climate strikes that roiled the world pre-covid-19, you'd know the kids are incredibly upset at the lot the world is handing them. Now, scientists have categorized that anguish in a landmark study. The findings, published in Lancet Planetary Health on Tuesday, show that kids and young adults in every corner of the globe are facing a mental health crisis driven by government inaction to end fossil fuel use. That will, in the words of the authors, lead to "significant, long-lasting" mental health impacts."

Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

- D.J. Kayser