What month is it?

Todd's Conservation MN Outlook for the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota

Monday: Mix of clouds and sun, still warmer than average (but nearly 15 degrees!) High: 74

Tuesday: Sunny start, clouds increase - slight chance of a passing shower as a cooler front arrives. High: 72

Wednesday: More sun, cooler breeze - very nice. High: 65

Thursday: Blue sky, beautiful. High: 64

Friday: High pressure drifts overhead - light winds - bright sunshine expected. High: 67

Saturday: Still amazingly nice (for October in Minnesota). Bright sunshine, breezy and milder. High: near 70

Sunday: What the heck... why not keep the sunny stretch of weather going. Cooler. Highs: Nearing 60

(Fall Photo Courtesy Rich Koivisto - Duluth, MN)

 I have to admit, I was a little dazed and confused this weekend, stumbling around, wondering what month it was. I found it a little strange having to fire up the A/C in October, but it was nice to get some extra mileage out of the patio furniture and the barbecue on the deck. Gee whiz, if the local trees weren't changing color and losing their leaves, I'd swear that we were reliving summer. Whatever the case, why do I have this nagging suspicion that at some point in the very near future we are going to pay for this incredibly mild and dry early October weather? Temps this month have been so mild that we are now sitting at the warmest October on record, nearly 5.5 degrees above average.

(Fall Photo Courtesy Rich Koivisto - Duluth, MN)

Looking ahead, there appears to no end to the mostly dry and mild fall weather. The strong upper level winds, which have been soaring north of us in Canada over the past several days, will begin to sag south this week, bringing noticeably cooler, but closer to average temperatures our way by mid week. Even still will high temperatures by Wednesday and Thursday, that will still be above average. Temps this upcoming weekend should be in the upper 50s, we may be close to 70 degrees on Saturday - good grief - Todd Nelson

Out of this World - Literally

(Photo Courtesy: Michael Jäger of Stixendorf, Austria)

On October 20th, Comet Hartley will have an 11-million-mile close encounter with Earth. You may not be able to see Comet Hartley with the naked eye just yet, but you can track the progress and potential sightings from spaceweather.com here:

More tracking and updates here:

Fall Color Update

Fall color is quickly fading, here's the latest report from the MN DNR: