Summery weekend temps; update on Friday night rain totals

Fog lingers in parts of northwestern Minnesota Saturday morning. A dense fog advisory continues until noon Saturday in Clay County and Wilkin County.

How much rain did we get?

Many parts of Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin saw substantial rainfall Thursday night into early Friday and also late Friday into Friday night.

The rainfall total at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Friday through Friday night was 1.66 inches.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, a volunteer observer network, posted this 24-hour rainfall plot, mainly for the period ending at 7 a.m. Saturday, but in a few cases ending at 9 a.m. Saturday:

There are some 2.5-inch to 3-inch totals in far eastern Wright County, far northern Hennepin County and southern Anoka County. There was a 3.04-inch rainfall total near Roseville in Ramsey County.

You can pan and zoom the map at the linked site to get rainfall info for your area.

Here’s a map of 24-hour rainfall totals ending at 7 a.m. Saturday:

It shows that swath of heavy rain in the metro area plus impressive rain totals in Aitkin County and parts of west-central and northwestern Wisconsin.

Weekend rain outlook

A few scattered showers and thunderstorms could pop up in southern and eastern Minnesota and in western Wisconsin late Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening/night.

Parts of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin could see a passing shower or thunderstorm Sunday morning.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. Also check out the MPR News display of National Weather Service radar.

You can also check these National Weather Service sites for updated weather info: Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Grand Forks, N.D.

Temperature trends

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 67 degrees on Sept. 30. Many spots in the metro area will reach the lower 80s Saturday afternoon.

Much of southern Minnesota will see Saturday highs in the lower 80s, with 70s in central and northwestern Minnesota. There will be some 60s in north-central and northeastern Minnesota.

Dew points will be in the sticky 60s across much of central and southern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin Saturday. Some areas could see dew points in the lower 70s at times. Sticky air will cover most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Sunday.

Sunday highs reach the 80s in much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

There will be some 70s in north-central and northeastern Minnesota plus northwestern Wisconsin. Highs in the 60s are expected up along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 80s on Monday and Tuesday, followed by lower 70s Wednesday, mid 60s Thursday and around 60 on Friday.

Fall colors are popping in many areas

Fall colors are popping in much of Minnesota. I saw pockets of brilliant fall color in parts of the Twin Cities metro area the past few days, but many metro area trees are green or just starting to reveal fall colors.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color report for Minnesota State Parks and Trails looks like this:

The changeover to fall colors is highest in the northern half of Minnesota, but parts of west-central and southwestern Minnesota are also seeing plenty of fall color.

When you look at the fall color map, keep in mind that all deciduous trees are included. Maples can sometimes be peaking in an area when the overall changeover to fall color is 50 percent or less.

The Wisconsin fall color report can be found here.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.