Two months' worth of rain in some locations

All or nothing. We’re living through another year of hydrologic extremes in Minnesota.

First, we got blitzed with 90 inches of snow in the Twin Cities last winter into early spring. The heavy snowfall blanketed most of Minnesota last winter. The good news? The abundant precipitation ended drought across our state.

Then somebody flipped off the moisture switch again this summer. Our verdant spring turned to flash drought with shades of summer brown as rainfall deficits between 8 and 10 inches accumulated.

Now finally, the skies have opened again. Rainfall totals since early Saturday reached 4 to 6 inches in many spots of eastern and northwestern Minnesota.

In northeastern Minnesota, the 7.12 inches of rainfall near French River, between Two Harbors and Duluth, amounts to more than two months of average rainfall for September at that location.

The average 30-year rainfall for the Twin Cities in September is about 3 inches. So many areas in the western and northern Twin Cities have also recorded nearly two months’ worth of rainfall since early Saturday.

October summer?

I wrote earlier Tuesday about the return of sunshine and warmer temperatures ahead later this week. But it appears our summery weather pattern will last week into October this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s six to 10-day outlook still stamps a big red warmer-than-average blob over Minnesota and the Great Lakes.

The eight to 14-day outlook favors more of the same.

Classic fall weather is coming. It’s just a question of when.