Mild Tuesday then cooling down sigificantly Wednesday with widespread rain and drizzle and poss ending as snow flurries? Dring out Thurs/Fri.

 Regional weather view.

A mild and dry Tuesday will take place region wide. Highs will be above what is expected for this time of year. Then Wednesday, a low pressure system and cold front in what appears to be the 1st system in what may lead to a more active pattern produce some widespread rains across much of the region. It will also be significantly cooler, and Enough cool air may mix in behind the system to produce some snow flurries behind the front, there would be no accumulation. Thursday and Friday things clear out and and it becomes seasonable during the day and chilly at night.

Local and Metro View. Locally we will have a fairly nice Tuesday, even though there will be some clouds we should have a fair amount of sunshine, and even without any sun we would still have nice temperatures. Highs should manage the mid 60s, with lows in the lower to mid 40s. Wednesday the low pressure and cold front will effect the area, temps will be Significantly Cooler! Highs will only be in the low to mid 40s, which we have not seen for highs yet this season. Rain has a chance of developing sometime in the morning, and will become widespread, we will probably see steady light rain or drizzle much of the day, and with the clouds and cool temps it will feel very chilly. This system has a better chance we've had in awhile to see any real rainfall amounts. Some areas may end out with near 4 tenths or more. Behind the front air may become cool enough that some of the rain may change to light snow flurries on Wednesday evening or night, but it would come to late for any accumulation, plus the ground is warm enough that any snow that would accumulate would likely melt fairly fast. Thursday and Friday things clear out and we should see good amounts of sunshine both days, we will have pleasantly chilly days, but quite cold mornings probably leading to some morning frosts. Highs will be in the mid 40s outside to Rochester Metro to the upper 40s in Rochester. 40s both days with lows in the mid to upper 20s or around 30.

Tuesday, Nice! Partly sunny to partly cloudy skies with highs in the middle 60s. Tuesday Night, Increasing clouds with lows in the low 40s. Rain showers developing towards morning

Wednesday, Significantly Cooler! Cloudy and rainy with widespread light rain or drizzle much of the day. Possible mixing with a few snow flurries in the evening. Highs in the low to mid 40s. Wednesday Night, A few showers or flurries possible, otherwise cloudy with lows in the lower 30s.

Thursday, Clearing skies and warmer. Highs in the mid 40s. Thursday Night, Chilly, Widespread frosts with lows in the middle 20s outside Rochester to the upper 20s in the city.

Friday, Sunny skies, pleasant, highs in the upper 40s. Friday Night, Not as cool, Partly cloudy with lows in the upper 30s

Looking Ahead

Forecasting models still show our weekend storm system ahead, but our area remains on the warm side of things, meaning we may actually see not just rain, but a chance of thunderstorms, especially early on Sunday, some could be strong, the storms tail end cold front sweeps through later Sunday which could lead to a few flurries. A different story will take place in Northwestern Minnesota and North Dakota which may end out getting some fairly good snow totals. By Monday the area is left with very cold but clear conditions. with slow warming towards Tuesday the 8th when a system passes just to our south. It dries out Wednesday and Thursday the 9th and 10th, Before a system and cold front sweeps very cold air down for the Friday the 11th, The air appears cool enough for maybe a all snow event for the area with that weak system which could lead to small amounts of snow. A clipper system coming down as all snow is right on its heels Saturday the 12th. Then it dries out with a very brief push of warm air arrives the 13th and 14th, before another strong cold front passes through bring more snow minor snow chances. It remains cold and the end of the run. Please stay tuned as the weeks are ahead, as the models continue to show more and more chances of snow.

Mild first part of weekend, then shower chances Sunday, with clearing in time for Halloween Day!

 Regional view.

It will be dry and mild across most of the region for Friday and Saturday with highs ranging in the 40s north to 60s south. Sunday a small weak disturbance will moves across Southern Minnesota and could spark a few light showers across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northern Iowa. It will clear out for most of the region on Monday, as warmer, drier air moves in from the southwest.

 Local view with Halloween Theme

Locally we can expect a nice Friday and Saturday for weather, we will have warm sunny days and chilly overnight lows. Highs will be in the middle 50s area wide with lows in the upper 20s on Friday Night, and in the upper 30s on Saturday Night. Sunday will be much cloudier as the disturbance mentioned above moves through, clouds and a few rain showers will become more numerous and could even be widespread in the morning to afternoon. It will be light rain and amounts will probably range up to around 3 tenths or less, which may offer some minor help to our moderate drought conditions. As a result of the clouds it will be cooler in the upper 40s with lows in the upper 30s Sunday Night, Clouds will clear in time Halloween, skies should be mostly sunny with maybe some more clouds and highs will warm up back into the low to mid 50s, lows Monday Night will be on the more mild side falling only to the mid to upper 30s.

Metro View

Friday, Sunny skies, mild with highs in the mid 50s, Friday Night, Chilly clear skies with lows in the upper 20s

Saturday, Sunny skies, mild with highs in the middle 50s. Saturday Night, Increasing clouds, lows in the upper 30s to 40

Sunday, Cloudy with a chance of light rain showers, possibly becoming widespread. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Sunday Night, Clearing skies, lows in the mid to upper 30s.

Halloween Day! Clearing skies, mild with highs in the mid 50s. Monday Night, Partly cloudy skies with lows in the upper 30s.

Looking Ahead

It remains more mild, and stays through Tuesday of next, then on Wednesday and Thursday a dry southward moving cold front will bring in cooler temperatures and a chance for snowfall to northeast of the area. This is replaced by warmer air by weeks end. Then on Sunday the 6th the models show a stronger storm system moving Northeast from Nebraska to Minnesota, spreading widespread rainfalls to much of the southeastern 2 3rds of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northern Iowa with snowfall in Northwestern Minnesota and North Dakota. Our area would be on the mild side of this system meaning it would be all rain. Temperatures remain fair for the local area even after the storm system passes. Then things get a littler more interesting with the next storm system around Wednesday the 9th of November, a storm system taking the same path, but slightly more east moves through and brings more widespread rain to the area, with it changing to snow behind a cold front on Thursday the 10th which could be the areas 1st snowfall. After this things take a turn for remaining cold, A 3rd system follows on Saturday the 12th accept this time it comes when cold air is intrenched in the area, meaning that one would be all, or mostly snow, but this will change. Stay tuned as the next few weeks pass by.

Late Autumn Fall Color Photos

 Beautiful colors of fiery red from Autumn Blaze Maple

Although still considered past peak, fall color has really been making a come back over the past week here in Rochester. After the colors were spent out by the warm temps we had early in the month, trees that were turning lost their leaves fast, and trees that were still green held on to their leaves. Now it seems the late turning trees that held their leaves are "catching up" and as a result and showing very beautiful colors. I've seen red, orange, yellow and rust all from late turning trees. The trees on the street above seemed to be especially stunning with their color this week, and this is the first time I have seen this type of maple in full color.

 Street trees West Downtown Rochester.

Here are some more maples seen with the fiery red color along second street southwest.

Maples really seem to be the starof the late season fall color show currently. The Red maple in our backyard has turned a nice red color and fits along with the rest around the neighborhood, which is not bad for color after a August planting! This tree was starting to turn earlier then slopped after it warmed and is now in peak color. A Eastern Redbud turning yellow can be seen in the backround.

Front yard view.

Here is what the front yard looks like this week. The burning bush finally is doing it's thing and is in peak color with fiery red color. The Juneberry to the right of the house has turned a pleasant red-orange fall color, while the ash has been bare for weeks. The grass has taken on a brown color from lack of rain recently. As for people wondering if I have noticed a difference between fall color in my hometown the answer is yes! Trees here in this more southerly latitude seems to hold their green color and turn color, in some cases much later then the same types of trees in my hometown over 100 miles to the north. Now it's on to see if Winter weather is any different!

Killing freeze finally occured for Eastern areas and Inner city Rochester. Lows as cold as the mid 20s last weekend!

 Frosty yard  in secondary frosts Oct 24th

I am making a catch up post early this week to talk about the the very cold nights we had over the weekend. A chilly high pressure behind a strong fall cold front dropped lows Friday Night dropping to their coldest levels of the season so far across Southeastern Minnesota, a hard freeze was reported in all locations, with some areas dropping to as cold as the lower to middle 20s!

 Frosty lawn weed Oct. 24th 2011

Eastern areas like Winona and Dakota along the Mississippi River as well as areas in Inner city parts of Rochester had their 1st and final growing season ending freeze, making the growing season officially ending across all parts of the area. In our yard in West Downtown the low ending out being 29.F  which is the 1st time it has dropped into the 20s so far this season! The tender annuals on the deck finally got froze off and I was able to clean up the pots and put them away for winter. I got the 1st taste of how much later freezes occur here in Southern Minnesota compared to my home up north becuase having the 1st freeze a week before Halloween seems quite late to me! I also found a sign inner city areas of Rochester truly are warmer. The low temperature Friday Night was 5 degrees colder dropping to 23.F in Oronoco just 5 miles outside of the Rochester City limits where the lows were in the upper 20s.

Lows that occurred

The coldest on the list I complied came from Oronoco with a lows of 23.F and the warmest area report was from Preston with a low of 33.F

Mild start to work week 60s for highs, then chance of getting wet Tuesday before it turns much cooler by Wed & Thursday 40s for highs.

 Regional View.

A warm front will be kind of cutting the weather conditions in half for the 1st start of the workweek. On the south side highs will be very mild in the 60s and 70s with lots of sun. North of it cooler 50s for highs can be expected with more cloudiness. Some showers will develop along the front Tuesday getting some areas wet. Wednesday a cold front will sweep this front away and bring in much cooler and more seasonable air region wide.

Local View

Locally and for the Rochester area we can expect that with the warm front nearby we will have a very pleasant Monday, there will be good amounts of sunshine early, then clouds will increase late, high will reach the middle 60s and lows in the mid 40s. A chance for showers will start to roll in late Monday and early Tuesday, leading to a much cloudier and wet, Tuesday especially early. It doesn't look like much but some areas may see a quarter inch, possible. None of this will be heavy, Highs will reach near 60 on Tuesday with lows near 40. Wednesday it will be cooling off quite a bit, it will be cloudy and slightly breezy, there could even be a sprinkle here and there. Highs will be in the low to mid 50s, Lows will probably fall near to if not below the freezing point once again in the upper 20s to low 30s. Thursday will be sunnier, but it will be a cool sunshine. Highs will be in the upper 40s to 50, and in the upper 20s to lower 30s.

Metro View

Monday, Sunny and mild! increasing clouds with with Highs in the mid 60s Monday Night, Increasing chances for light showers, otherwise cloudy with lows in the  mid 40s

Tuesday, Cloudy with a chance for light showers, especially early, Highs in near 60. Tuesday Night, Cloudy, lows in the mid 30s.

Wednesday, Much cooler, Cloudy with some sun and possibly a sprinkle. Highs in the low to mid 50s. Wednesday Night, very chilly, Clearing skies, lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.

Thursday, Chilly Sunshine, lighter winds, highs in the upper 40s to 50.F. Thursday Night very chilly clear skies with lows in the upper 20s to low 30s.

Looking Ahead

The end of next week looks dry and still chilly. The weekend before Halloween shows a dry warming trend, then a chance for a sprinkle come Sunday. Halloween looks like it will be dry at this point with seasonable temps. We start November the 1-2nd off mild, then the models show a strong cold front sweeping through Thursday the 3rd bringing rain changing to a few wet snowflakes, slightly warmer air arrives behind that system for the weekend of the 5th, and it turns more dry with seasonable temps lasting through the 8th of November. The models have been very un trust worthy at this point so come back for future updates.

Very chilly parts of week ahead, A tast of late fall! highs will be inb the 40s on Tuesday, Hard freeze likely area wide Wed Night, including inner city areas.

 Regional Weather View.

It will be cooler even more for the region as we progress through the week. A cold front has passed opening the door from northwest, allowing for very chill air to filter into the region. At the same time a weak system in Michigan may spark a rain or snow showers of Northeaster Minnesota, and the Northern half of Wisconsin, with very little or no accumulation. Highs will slowly moderate as we head towards Thursday.

 Local veiw.

Localy we can expect Monday to be a bit chill with still quite a harsh breeze continuing from the Northwest up to 35MPH at times. It will not be too bad of a day besides the wind, Skies will be sunny with highs reaching the mid 50s. Lows will fall to the middle to upper 30s Monday Night. Tuesday will be a Very Chilly! day and we will get our 1st tast of late fall! There should be more clouds then sun, and highs will not get out of the 40s area. There could be a spot rain shower with instabilitiy of the day, which at times cloud mix with a little sleet at times. Lows Tuesday night will be in the low to mid 30s with upper 30s in Rochester. Wednesday will also be very chilly it will be be mostly cloudy early in the day then skies will clear off. Highs will proably not get out of the 40s once again, but could reach 50s in Rochester. This will set the stage for what will likely be the coldest night of the season so far under mostly clear skies lows will fall into the upper 20s to mid 20s. the Inner city Rochester Metropoltin area will also likely experince it's 1st hard freeze of the season. In fact it is likely we will see frost most of the upcoming morings, beacause the growing season has already ended none of this frost

 Metro View

will be threat to preinnial plantings. Thursday is the day things warm up skies will be mostly sunny and we will start a warming trend, highs will warm up into the 50s with lows down into the mid 30s.

Monday, Breezy and cool, Winds could gust to 35MPH at times, Mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid 50s. Monday Night, Clear skies, lows in the mid 30s area to upper 30s in inner city Rochester.

Tuesday, Very Chilly!! Mostly cloudy to partly cloudy, highs in the upper 40s, a chance of a spot rain shower, possibly mixing with sleet at times. Tuesday Night, Mostly Cloudy, lows in the mid to upper 30s inner city Rochester.

Wednesday, Very Chilly! Mostly cloudy with clearing skies in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 40s to 50 Inner city Rochester. Wednesday Night, Cold! Clear skies hard freeze entire areas, lows falling to the mid to upper 20s, with up to 30.F inner city Rochester.

 Thursday, Warmer sunny skies, lighter winds, highs in the low 50s. Thursday Night, Clear skies, lows in the low to mid 30s

Looking Ahead

The 1st part of next weekend of the looks very nice. It should feature lots of sunshine on Saturday. Then Sunday showers form on a cold front and bring the local areas some rainfall, some of it could bring us some totals higher then quarter inch. Then the models showers our 1st  significant fall cold front of the season, by Wednesday 26th Very Cold! air moves into the region, highs may not even rise above the freezing mark, and light snow chances would be possible for the area. Warmer drier air pushes in just in time for Halloween, highs would be in the 40s it appears. More on this potential late Oct. cold blast as it nears a bit closer.

Fall color report #6 Peak to past peak all areas. Final fall color report.

Fall color report.

Colors are peak to past peak across much of the area this weekend. Colors were noticeably dull area wide, and what trees had colors really lost their leaves very quick in the warm weather. The weather did not corporate very well to provide good color, It cooled off nicely early, then it warmed up significantly for more then a week speeding up trees that were turning, but halting trees that were still green. So we ended up peaking a little bit earlier then normal and only half the trees showed their color. Earlier to mid changing trees like Sugar and Red Maples, Black Walnuts, Ashes, and Birches are already bare and leafless area wide. Late turning tress like Norway &s Maple, Oaks, Willows and Poplars are actually actually still quite green but will slowly be changing shades of reddish to yellow in the next few weeks. Still the most beautiful coloring should have more then likely past, because of that this will be my last fall color reporting post.

 

Peak Fall colors at peak October 6th 2011 West Downtown residental area

This was the view around midweek last week when we were having all that beautiful weather. I would have to say that's when trees looked their brightest around the city. The colors were not too bad but were just not very stunning to me, Asking locals they also said that it was a weird year this year for fall colors.

Downtown Rochester view from Quarry Hill October 14th 2011

Here is a current view of our color, and by looking at this pictures it is easy to tell which trees changed earlier becuase they are completely bare, while late turning ones are still summer green. It's a really odd looks scene I must say. In the yard the ash trees has long past lost it's leaves and is bare. The bruning bush along with the trees in the backyard started changing but the warm weather delayed them so they lost some leaves, but looks mostly green. Hopefully the cooler weather this weekend will allow them to color up nicely.

System providing wet Wednesday, but moisture is Much needed. Breezy Friday then sunny and cool for weekend.

 Regional Weather View.

Some weather lovers may be saying finally some action, while farmers and home owners may be saying finally some rain! A frontal system will provide some much needed widespread rainfall for the Upper Midwest on Wednesday, this should end out in being at least a quarter inch over a widespread area. The frontal system will put an end to the extremely mild weather the region has been enjoying. The weekend is looking drier with temps much more close to seasonal normals.

 Local Weather View.

Locally we can expect for the 1st time in quite a while some more significant rainfall, a wet rainy, all day type rain Wednesday is likely in store for us, and when it's now raining drizzling, it will be cloudy.  This frontal system looks to at least bring us a quarter inch of rain, but some places could see up to a half inch, and this is much needed rainfall.Temps will be in the upper 60s, with lows in the low 50s on Wednesday. Thursday could still have drizzle in the morning, then skies will become partly sunny, temps will be much cooler then what we have experienced. Highs will be in the low 60s on Thursday with lows in the mid 40s. Friday will be chilly and blustery behind the front, winds will gust to 30MPH at times, skies will have a better chance of being more sunny. Highs will be in the upper 50s to low 60s. For the weekend, Saturday and Sunday will be dry with temperatures around what we would normally expect for this time of year. With partly cloudy skies both days, highs will be in the low 60s and lows will be in the low to mid 40s

Metro View


Fall Color Fall color on green trees has really slowed this week due to above average temps, while at the same times many of the earlier trees are bare. We should sitll have a fairly nice peak color by weeks end when Oaks begin to change.

For the metro we can expect the same. Wettest day will be Wednesday highs will be in the upper 60s, Thursday will be more cloudy then sunny, with highs in the mid 60s and lows in the upper 40s, and Friday will be blustery with highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Saturday and Sunny will be dry and sunny for the metro with highs in the low to mid 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

Wednesday, Cloudy with widespread rain and drizzle through the day, cloudy skies with highs in the upper 60s. Wednesday Night, Showers, otherwise cloudy with lows in the low 50s

Thursday, Much Cooler, A chance for drizzle or showers during the first part of the day, otherwise partly sunny with highs in the low 60s. Thursday Night, clearing skies, lows in the middle 40s.

Friday, Blustery and chilly, winds NW gusting to 30MPH at times. Sunny skies with highs in the low 60s. Friday Night, Clear skies lows in the low to mid 40s

Saturday, Sunny skies less wind, seasonable temps. Highs in the low 60s. Saturday Night, clear skies, lows in the low to mid 40s.

Sunday, Nice! Sunny skies warmer, highs in the mid 60s. Sunday Night clear skies lows in the mid 40s.

Looking Ahead

Monday night and Tuesday our next system with strong cold front arrives and it should bring very cool and showery conditions with it. The models seem persistent on trying to bring some snow flurries to parts of Minnesota and Iowa with the passing on this front but most of the preip should be far enough away where that wont happen so it's now worth concerning over just yet. One thing is for sure though, it does bring significantly colder air for Wednesday the 19th, it will be windy and highs may struggle to get out of the 50s and possible may even have a hard time getting out of the 40s! A hard freeze looks very likely areas that have not received it yet. Thursday it dries out and warms up to near seasonable levels fairly fast behind this system, by weeks end on the 23rd a another cold front passes bringing slightly cooler air. Then the models get very interesting towards the end of their run, they have just started showing a very strong significant system around the 26th of October, it shows a low pressure system moving southeast out of Canada, bringing with it very cold air. Based on what I'm seeing right now highs would struggle to even be above freezing. Winds would also be a major factor with this system if it plays out. This is only the 1st time this has shown up so be sure to check back.

unbelievable Oct warmth, record streak of 80 degree highs. Also time to plant spring bulbs is now!

 Front yard as of October 8th 2011

The area has been enjoying beautiful sunny and very mild weather for the past week and people have broken out the shorts and short sleeves once again, but lets face it, this type of weather is just not normal for October standards! Everyday for the past 7 days has succeeded 80.F and 3 of those days has been quite hot in the mid to upper 80s at my location. I've seen an odd warm day here or there in October before, but to have such a long stretch of beautiful summer like weather this far into Oct is unheard of to me! Not only have the temperatures been un seasonably mild, but were are lucky enough that everyday has brought abundant sunshine. There was one day this past week that was very windy, Friday strong southerly gusted to 45MPH here in Rochester, taking away many of the leaves of turning trees, and taking down some minor sized branches, but besides this one day winds have been fairly light to just a few breezes. NWS La Crosse says Rochester Airport broke 1 record high this week, Friday at 84.F, They also said that there has never been a stretch of highs in the 80s this long at the airport in October even since records began in 1886!

 Bulbs I planted last weekend

Many of my more previous viewers know spring flowering bulbs are one of my favorite plants, I've gone from growing them in the fridge each winter, to eventually finding varieties that worked for me so I was able to leave them in the ground. When I moved into my aunts house for college, I found out there are no spring bulbs in any of the gardens, so we both purchased about 200 bulbs together and becuase I had success in planting them the ground in my home state of Wisconsin, I decided to skip the fridge this year and plant strait into the ground. We got 3 different color Tulips, 4 different color Crocus, mix colored Hyacinths, and two different color Daffodils. If all goes well it should be a very beautiful spring next year right around the time my horticulture studies end for the summer, I planted some along the southern foundation of the house to compare to home sprouting and blooming times, and I plan to follow their growth here next spring just as I did for my gardens in Wisconsin.

 Bulbs positioned in a trench along the southern foundation of the garage.

The time to plant bulbs is now! Anyone wanting to plant spring bulbs should get them in the ground in the next 2 weeks, especially if interested in Daffodils. Spring bulbs need time to root in before the ground freezes. Some bulbs like Tulips can be planted up to a week or two before a sticking snowfall, I've had very good results from this planting 1 week before a sticking snow, but the general good rule to follow is to have everything planted by the 20th of October, and for Daffodils is required that they get good roots down or they will be severely damaged and wont bloom. With this time limit, this makes the next couple weeks a great time to plant throughout much of the Upper Midwest! Don't forget to one of the post important steps when planting bulbs and that's watering them down good after planting, otherwise there just dormant bulbs sitting in soil!

Leaf covering for winter protection

Many homeowners end up with lots of leaves in their yards, and instead of bagging them they can be added to the garden and used as a great winter protection! I've taken this step every fall and I remove the leaves the following spring as bulbs begin to sprout. I leave the leaves near by the plants in most of April in case hard spring freezes threaten.

Rain will hold off for for weekend, bringing outstanding warm sunny weather to the area. Updated X1

Regional Weather View.

A very mild, but windy start to the weekend is ahead, A frontal system with tight strengthening low pressure will cause windy, to very windy conditions for parts of the Upper Midwest, winds could gust as high as 50+ MPH in South Dakota and North Dakota as well as Northwest Minnesota, Further east 40MPH winds are possible for the rest of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. The same frontal system may spark a few showers or thunderstorms over the weekend.

Local view

Note The forecast for Saturday and Sunday has been changed, rain chances have been lowered or taken out completely for Saturday and Sunday, and highs have been raised becuase cloud cover will not be as full.

Locally we can also expect the windy conditions as mentioned above, to make for a windy but dry Friday, Winds could gust as high as 40MPH here in the local area, this will likely blow around a lot of the leaves clinging to the trees. Highs will be very mild for Early October and will reach the lower 80s to middle 80s in the Metro with partly cloudy skies. Lows Friday night will be in the low to mid 60s, which is closer to where daytime highs should be! Saturday and Sundays forecast is now looking brighter and warmer as well. Skies will be partly cloudy both days, there is still a small chance at a shower or storms, but it is likely now that it will stay dry. Highs Saturday and Sunday becuase it is now expected to be sunnier will be in the low 80s to mid 80s for Rochester, which is extremely mild. Monday will remain warm, there could still be a light shower, if there isn't showers it will instead be mostly cloudy with highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 50s.

Metro View

Friday, Partly Cloudy and Windy, winds gusting to 40MPH from the southwest at times. Very mild! with highs in the low to mid 80s. Friday Night, Mild! Partly cloudy with lows in the low to mid 60s.

Saturday, Partly cloudy, Very Mild! with highs in the low to mid 80s. Saturday Night, A chance of showers, otherwise mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 50s.

Sunday,  Partly cloudy and very mild, with highs in the low 80s. Sunday Night, mostly cloudy, lows in the low 50s 

Monday, Partly Cloudy with a chance of a light morning shower, otherwise mild with highs in the upper 70s. Monday Night, partly cloudy, lows in the mid 50s.


Looking Ahead

Tuesday looks to be more cloudy then sunny with a slight chance of sprinkles. Then Wednesday a system and cold front that will move into Iowa will bring a much better chance of much needed rain to southeastern Minnesota, This will be our next chance at any significant rain. Behind the cold front it is much colder for Thursday the 13th, and the much cooler airmass stays in place through much of that weekend. Then the models get very interesting towards the 17th of October, It shows a clashing of airmasses come together right were a very strong storm system moves over the Upper Midwest which puts most of Minnesota on it's northern edge, with the cool air already in place, This system the models are showing right now has the potential to bring Snow as far south as central Minnesota, with rain for the local area, Lots of wind looks likely as well. It dries out and becomes warmer for the 18th and 19th, before more rain moves in by the 20th of October. The models continue to keep it very active around here through the 23rd, which would bring a system of rain over us every other day it seems. More on this later.

Warm temp report-Record Highs tied today

Leaves seen falling from Front yard ash Oct 5th 2011 on a very warm sunny October day

A Very warm almost hot October day occurred today, under brilliant sunshine, highs on the backside of a high pressure system rose to the mid to upper 80s, many places were near 90.F today, which is downright unheard of for October standard highs which are normally in the 60s, meaning highs were at least 25 degrees above what is expected! People will be able to continue to enjoy this weather, sunshine with highs in the 80s looks like it will continue for the rest of the work week. The only thing that will be noticed will be the wind will pick out of the south at times to 25MPH

High temps Wednesday

Record highs were tied today including a record high tied report at Rochester International Airport the official reading for Rochester, reached 85.F the last time Rochester was this one on this date was back in 1938! Un officially the warmest Rochester reading was from my station and Northwest Rochester at 87.F The warmest area wide report was Red Wing at 88.F!

Fall Color Report #5 All areas reporting High to Peak color!

Fall Color Report 2011

The very mild weather this week has made a significant progress in our fall color season, a significant jump can be seen in our map compared to last week. All areas are reporting High color, with places like Austin and Fontenac reporting peak color, meaning all areas have at least 75% color or higher. Early changing trees are peaking right now and are quickly loosing leaves, Mid turning trees are turning as well and are colorful, late turning trees like Oak and Poplar are still green, but should be turning in the next couple of weeks. People

with fall color interests will want to view fall color quickly becuase with the warm dry and weather are causing tree leaves to dropping at a fast rate.

Beautiful street sence of yellow Honey Locus trees from my neighborhood October 5th 2011

For fall color this week I give Rochester a High Color 75% rating which is a significant raise from last weekends 40% color. Warm days and sunshine have lead to a significant increase in color over the past few days. Rochester is currently beautiful for fall color! in residential neighborhoods with mid to early changing trees, views are be beat-taking. A view looking towards Downtown from Quarry Hill should not disappoint, although some of the best views I have seen were from Silver Lake Park. Sugar Maples are beautiful red to orange, Ash and Honey Locus are peaking at are yellow to gold, Red Maples have been seen turning stunningly red, and Burning Bushes are fiery pink. Oaks, Birches and Poplars are showing signs of turning but remain primarily green. Many have asked me why the leaves are falling so quickly from the trees and the answer is very warm days like we have had actually cause tree leaves to "ripen" faster, just like a piece of fruit left outside of the fridge compared to being left in the fridge, cooler days would help to "preserve" the color for longer periods of time.

Front yard color October 4th 2011

Our yard has spiked in color significantly since my last photo was shown on the 24th of September, Our front yard ash peaked a day ago and is a beautiful yellow-gold color. It is already shedding leaves very quickly and leaves now cover the yard and driveway. Our burning bush is starting to turn pink, and for our backyard, the Red Maple I planted last August and Redbud tree are starting to turn Yellow and Yellow-orange.

Downtown Sugar Maple October 4th

Here is a beautiful Sugar Maple on an empty city lot near Mayo Clinic

Sugar Maple near Downtown October 4th

Here is a very pretty view of another sugar maple which has turned an almost ember orange color, I have not seen such intense orange in a Sugar Maple before!

West Downtown Residential color October 4th

Here is are some Ash and Amur Maples

Very warm and mild week ahead, 80s with sunshine for 1st week in October!

 Regional Weather View.

A strong high pressure will give the gift of with a very warm and earily quite for the 1st part of October, It will likely be wall to wall sunshine for the next 4 days at least, tempetures region wide will be in the 70s to 80s, with really no precip to be found.

Metro view and Local view.

Locally we will be enjoying a very warm and sunny week ahead thanks to High pressure. Most everyday will feture all day warm sunshine with highs reaching the upper 70s everyday and low to mid 50s at night. The immidate Rochester metro and warm spots in the local area may even have a threat of reaching the low, possibly mid 80s a few of thoughs days. People touring the fall color around the local area will find that trees will really be taking a progression this week, Warm sunny days and cool nights are the perfect combanation for fall color to develop.

Monday, Sunny, Warm with light winds. Highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Monday Night, Clear skies, lows in the upper 40s to low  50s.

Tuesday, Sunny and  very Warm highs in the low 80s, light winds. Tuesday Night, Clear Skies mild, lows in the low to mid 50s.

Wedneday, Sunny and very warm, highs in the low to mid 80s. Wednesday Night, clear skies very mild with lows in the upper 50s.

Thursday, Sunny and very warm, highs in the low to mid 80s. Wednesday Night, clear skies, very mild with lows in the upper 50s to 60.F

Looking Ahead

Looking into next weekend, nice weather may just last long enough to overlap into the weekend. then Monday the 12th a system will try to bring rain into Minnesota, but it may just end out being more clouds then anything for most of the area. by the 14th the mild airmass overhead currently peaks, highs may end out being very warm around the 14th. Right before a very strong cold front and system passes through on the 16th which is so strong, it could bring snow to parts of Northwestern Minnesota. Tuesday the 18th it looks very cold for the local area, highs have a chance of being near 32.F. Pleast stay tuned as this may change as models progress towards the middle of the month.

Fall Color Report #4 Moderate color now in place in some areas, with high color in dry Southeast areas.

Fall Color report #4

Fall color has picked up quite a bit more compared to last weekend, but it was slowed down quite a bit last week by cool wet and windy weather. Earlier changing trees like Ash, some Maples, and Sumacs are now reaching peak in their color. Across the area Moderate color is being seen in Northern and central counties, with a spot of high color at Harmony, an area that was dry earlier this fall contributing to the fast change in that area. Austin is still behind from the rest of the area, still reporting low color.

Looking Northeast into Emerald Hills from St Marys Park Oct 1st.

I give Rochester 40% color, which would be considered low end of Moderate Color. We had a very fast progression last week, then colors really slowed down with cooler and wetter we had in the middle of last week. Still color has picked up sigificantly compared to last week. Color is actually high among nieghborhoods with earlier changing trees. Residents with bolvards lined with Ash, Maple, or Honey Locus maple find color that beautiful shades of gold-yellow to orange and red. Red maple trees are starting to join the action now and are turning red and burgandy. Darf burning bushes are also still in the show with firery red color. Mid to late turning trees like Silver & Norway Maples, Oaks and Elms are still very much green, so if your in an nieghborhood with more of these tree types, you may find it is still quite green.

Downtown color Setpember 28th

I took this beautiful photo of the Green ash trees which have turned yellow in Downtown before the winds on September 29th came and blew many of the leaves off. The plummer buliding can be seen to the right.

Fall color from my nieghborhood Oct 2nd 2011

This is a view of a Red Maple up my street which has turned an impressive red color, Yellow colored Honey Locus can be seen in the backround. For color in our yard, it has really made progression this week. Our front yard Ash has turned gold- yellow, and is nearing peak and should peak in the next couple days. The darf Burning bush is also just starting to turn firey red. The Backyard still remains very much green, both trees including a Red Maple and Redbud are still green. I will include a photo of the front yard color once it has reach peak.

NW Wisconsin Weather is now SE Minnesota Weather.

I've noticed that quite a bit of viewers are having troble finding my new blog becuase I've switched my blogs web address. So to hopfully help out I've made this post to let viewers know I'm still out there, I'm just at a new blog address! As many people know my blog has been changes to cover Southeastern Minnesota. So a need of web addres change was needed. Now when people type in NW Wisconsin Weather in their serch engine, to try to get to my nwwisconsinweather.blogspot.com blog they will get a "this blog has been delelted" message, when the fact is all my old posting from Wisconsin will remain in tact. To find all my old postings as Northwest Wisconsin Weather, as well as my new blog please go to: seminnesotaweather.blogspot.com


Thanks, Blog owner
Derek McKay