The simulated radar from AM Tuesday to PM Wednesday shows scattered showers and storms developing across southeastern Minnesota later in the day Tuesday. Some of the storms could be a little strong with locally heavy rainfall.

According to NOAA's SPC, there is a Marginal Risk of severe storms PM Tuesday with wind and hail being the primary threat.

The precipitation outlook through PM Wednesday shows locally heavy rainfall across southeastern Minnesota, where some 1" rainfall tallies will be possible.

Weather conditions through the 2nd half of the week and into the weekend show several round rain rain and possibly snow moving through the Midwest. The heaviest rainfall will be across the southeastern part of the state, while some wet snow accumulations will be possible across the northern half of the state.

The extended precipitation outlook through early next week shows some 1" to 3" rainfall tallies across the Southeastern part of the state. There could also be some near 1" tallies across the northwestern part of the state.

Several models are showing the potential of snow as we head into the later half of the week and weekend ahead. The snowfall amounts won't be overly heavy, but there could be some slushy accumulations across parts of northern Minnesota later this week.

Thanks to some recent heavy rains parts of the state are now in a surplus over the last 90 days. Some of the biggest surpluses are showing up in blue in pockets across parts of central Minnesota, including the Twin Cities and into western Wisconsin. It has been a very soggy last 4 weeks.

Here's a picture from Mai Xiong Thao & the MN DNR Website at Afton State Park. Fall colors look well underway there and are peaking or past peak across much of the northern half of Minnesota.

According to the MN DNR, much of Minnesota is at or past peak. Fall colors will continue to rapidly change, so take a moment and enjoy the season while you can. Note that most leaves will vacate the premises in a few weeks and won't return until sometime in mid/late May...

See more from the MN DNR HERE:

Here's a look at the fall color report in Wisconsin. Fall colors are peaking in some areas and peak isn't far away in others.

See more from Travel Wisconsin HERE:

Here's a look at Hurricane Tammy from earlier in the day Monday. This storm drifted north of the Leeward Islands on Monday, but still looks somewhat disorganized.

According to NOAA's NHC, Tammy will continue to remain at hurricane status through midweek. It may weaken to a tropical storm later this week and take a hard left toward Bermuda by Friday & Saturday. Stay tuned...

The 7 day outlook for the Atlantic Basin shows Hurricane Tammy north of the Caribbean and tracking toward Bermuda by the weekend. Tropical Depression Twenty-One also developed in the western Caribbean on Monday and will bring very heavy rainfall to Central America.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th, but did you know that the typical peak is September 10th? This is when the Atlantic Basin has had the most hurricanes and named storms since records began. This is also when weather conditions are at optimal levels for these types of storms.

The temperature outlook on Tuesday shows quite a range from northwest to southeast across the state. Folks in far northwestern Minnesota will only warm into the mid/upper 40s, while areas in southeastern Minnesota will warm into the low/mid 70s. Areas in southeastern Minnesota will be nearly +20F warmer than average along with scattered showers and storms, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall.

Temperatures in Minneapolis will start in the mid 50s in the morning and will warm into the low/mid 60s in the afternoon. We should be dry to start, but scattered showers and storms will develop in the afternoon across the southeastern part of the state and will drift north into the Twin Cities later in the day. Northerly winds will be around 5mph to 15mph through the day.

The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows temps running well above average through midweek. The warmest days will be Tuesday and Wednesday with readings warming into the low/mid 60s, which will be nearly +10F above average for this time of the year. It gets significantly cold as we approach the weekend with highs only warming into the 30s, which will be nearly -10F to -15F below average.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows unsettled weather in place now over the next several days. Highs will be quite mild through Thursday with showers and storms. Temps fall quite a bit as we slide into the weekend with highs only warming into the 30s and overnight lows in the upper 20s and lower 30s. There could even be some wet snow fall across parts of the metro later this week/weekend.

According to NOAA's National Blend of Models, temps will warm into the 60s through the midweek, which will be above average for this time of the year. Weather conditions turn more unsettled during the 2nd half of the week with falling temps. Temps will get quite a bit colder as we head into the end of October and early November with readings well below average. It is likely that we may even see our first freeze in the Twin Cities Metro along with a chance of snow.

Weather conditions in the Central US will turn a more unsettled as we head through the week. Areas of storms and heavy rain will be possible, but we could also see some of first flakes of the season along with some wet snow accumulations for some.

The 8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook shows more unsettled weather along the West Coast and also the southern tier of the nation.

Full disclosure: I put on my winter tires yesterday. Based on personal experience I've found traction on winter tires is better than all-season tires. You have the freedom to reach a different conclusion.

After one of the hottest summers on record and a long, luxurious, lukewarm autumn, a reality check was inevitable. No need to panic just yet.

A few T-storms today may be strong, even severe. Some models print out 1-2" rains for far southern Minnesota. We dry out a little Wednesday before another surge of rain Thursday. Each successive storm drags increasingly chilly air southward out of Canada. By the weekend the lowest mile of the atmosphere will be cold enough for snow. Light snow may track north of the MSP metro Saturday, where an inch or two of slush may fall on lawns and fields. Right now this does not look like "The Big One". No rerun of the 1991 Halloween Blizzard is imminent, but next week will be nippy, with highs in the 30s and a hard freeze, statewide.

Winter is tardy, but it's still coming.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Chance of T-showers. Winds: N 5-10. Low: 51.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy, drying out. Winds: NE 5-10. High 62.

THURSDAY: More rain, few T-storms? Winds: NE 10-15. Wake-up: 52. High 60.

FRIDAY: Passing shower, windy and colder. Winds: NW 15-30. Wake-up: 41. High 46.

SATURDAY: Light snow may stay north of MSP. Winds: NE 10-15. Wake-up: 35. High 40.

MONDAY: Peeks of sun, feels like late November. Winds: NW 15-25. Wake-up: 27. High: 37.

October 24th

1922: A powerful low pressure system over Minnesota brings 55 mph winds to Collegeville.

October 24th

Average High: 54F (Record: 80F set in 1989)

Record Rainfall: 1.00" set in 1899

Record Snowfall: 0.2" set in 1942

October 24th

Sunrise: 7:40am

Sunset: 6:13pm

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 2 Minutes & 56 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 5 Hour & 14 Minutes

3.1 Days After First Quarter Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temps on Tuesday will still be quite warm across the Central US with temps warming into the 70s and 80s, which will be nearly +10F to +20F above average for this time of the year. Meanwhile, our next big storm system will begin to take shape in the Northwestern US with cooler temps and widespread rain and high elevation snow.

The National Weather outlook through Wednesday shows rounds of thunderstorms developing across the Central US. Areas of heavy snow will develop in the northern Rockies and High Plains, where winter weather headlines have been posted.

The extended precipitation outlook shows widespread rainfall across the Central US. There could be several inches of rain from Texas to the Great Lakes, mixed with a little snow farther north. There will also be areas of heavy precipitation across the Northwest.

According to the ECMWF weather model, it looks like parts of the Northwest and High Plains could be dealing with some fairly decent snow tallies through the week. Parts of Minnesota could even see some snow! This will be our first real snow event of the season.

"About 5% of U.S. households have rooftop solar, a share that may seem like a lot, but it looks low compared to places like Germany (about 20%) and Australia (about 30%). One of the big reasons that the United States lags some of those other countries is that electricity is unusually cheap here, so it makes less sense on a financial basis for someone to buy rooftop solar. But this is changing. Utilities across the country have been raising their electricity rates by leaps and bounds, with the approval of state regulators. The rate hikes reflect increases in the utilities' costs of operation and their desire to show growth in earnings. This is fueling demand for rooftop solar, the technology that many utilities view as competition."

See more from Fast Company HERE:

See more from NHPR HERE:

"The upcoming United States winter looks likely to be a bit low on snow and extreme cold outbreaks, with federal forecasters predicting the North to get warmer than normal and the South wetter and stormier. A strong El Nino heavily moderates and changes the storm tracks of what America is likely to face from December to February, with an added warming boost from climate change and record hot oceans, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday in releasing their winter outlook. The forecast warmth will likely turn some storms that would have dumped snow into rain in the nation's northern tier, but there's also "some hope for snow lovers," with one or two possible whopping Nor'easters for the East Coast, said Jon Gottschalk, operations branch chief of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. Parts of the East Coast, particularly the Mid-Atlantic, may get more snow than normal because of that, he said."

See more from US News HERE: