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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Modest warming trend into Saturday; coldest week so far next week

Growing season ended at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Thursday

Fall color in Deephaven
Fall color in Deephaven, Minn.
Paul Huttner | MPR News

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That fuzzy signpost up ahead reads November.

We’re turning the seasonal corner now. Thursday’s sunshine was welcome.

But Minnesota’s sun angle and intensity are now equal to Feb. 18. There’s just not as much inbound solar energy to warm the atmosphere as much as a few weeks ago.

Vibrant splashes of fall color linger at the Weather Lab.

Fall color at the Huttner Weather Lab
Fall color at the Huttner Weather Lab
Paul Huttner | MPR News

First freeze at MSP Airport

The mercury at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport dipped to 32 degrees Thursday morning.

Temperatures at MSP Airport
Temperatures at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Twin Cities National Weather Service

That ends the growing season in the inner Twin Cities urban core. By my occasionally flawed math, that makes a 183-day growing season at the airport this year. That’s 15 days longer than the 30-year (1981-2010) average growing season of 168 days.

You can check average spring and fall freeze dates across Minnesota here.

Modest warming trend

The seven-day temperature trend pretty much tells the weather story. A modest warming trend kicks in Friday and Saturday afternoon. The next cool front arrives Sunday. A Canadian air mass invasion next week produces the coldest air of the season so far in Minnesota.

Temperature forecast for Minneapolis
Temperature forecast for Minneapolis
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via Weather Bell

Snowy rumors: Probably just rumors

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model put a little late October scare into Minnesota meteorologists this week. The usually trusty Euro suggested significant to heavy snow potential across Minnesota on Oct. 29 in Wednesday’s model runs.

Thursday’s solutions backed off the notion of significant snow for Minnesota. The Canadian and European models now suggest some snow in eastern Iowa and Wisconsin. We’ll keep watching this but the latest model consensus suggests Minnesota may avoid a significant late-October snowfall.

Stay tuned.