Autumn moisture recharge; Red River of the North on the rise
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Once crops are in and our gardens have been shut down for the season, precipitation can be a welcome sight. Storage of rainfall before the soil freezes helps stablize the water table, but can also set the stage for a spring snow melt flood.
Heavy rain in the headwaters of the Red River, which flows north into Canada, has pushed the river to near flood stage already in Wahpeton, N.D. The Red is forecast to crest around 11 feet on Thursday, about a foot above minor flood stage, according to the National Weather Service flood warning.
Rises on the Red are expected to continue upstream to Fargo, N.D., where the National Weather Service has posted a flood watch.
Fields are likely to remain a little muddy for pheasant hunting, opening this weekend in South Dakota.
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Rainfall in central and southern Minnesota was on the order of an inch and a half to close to two inches at many locations. In the Twin Cities, a number of locations tallied more than an inch and a half from Monday night through Tuesday night.
Skies are expected to brighten today, but temperatures are likely to remain on the cool side. The remainder of the week is forecast to bring below normal temperatures. For the first half of October, temperatures have been running over five degrees above normal in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Overnight minimum temperatures have yet to fall much below 40 degrees in the immediate Metro. The coldest reading so far at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this season has been 39 degrees.
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities announced that there is no need to issue frost warnings in our neck of the woods since we are already so deep into autumn and the growing season has come to an end.
If you have put off outdoor chores, you'll be dealing with chilly temperatures this weekend.
Some of my associates are still looking to get some house painting completed. I'd like to put another coat of stain on my observation deck floor before it's covered with snow.
Snow is not entirely unusual as we head into later October. Here's a reminder from mid October 2009 from Eden Prairie, Minn., of how a coating of snowflakes can mask the autumn colors.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a cooler than normal period right on through the next couple of weeks. Too early for me to make a prediction for Halloween!
