Big temperature swing this week, staying dry

Happy Sunday everyone! We have seen plenty of sunshine today, a few fair weather cumulus clouds, and unseasonably warm temperatures! In fact, almost all of the Weather First area has reached 80F, which is over 20F above the average high temperature for October 20th!

The warmth continues tonight and into Monday, with overnight/morning lows not even dropping to the average high for this time of year in some places (mid to upper 50F’s). Monday will be another anomalously warm day, with high temperatures in the low 80F’s for most of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Winds will also be quite breezy out of the south at around 10 to 15 mph.

Skies will remain generally clear Sunday night, with a few high level cirrus clouds moving in for Monday afternoon. Temperatures cool into the mid 70F’s for Tuesday, still very warm for this time of year, but with a few more afternoon clouds. Breezy conditions will still be around, with south winds 10 to 15 mph, gusting up to 20 mph at times.

Tuesday night into Wednesday a powerful cold front passes through. There is a slight chance of a shower or two, especially across our Minnesota counties Tuesday night, but chances are slim. Winds will remain breezy but will shift to out of the northwest by Wednesday, reaching up to 25 mph at times.

Wednesday high temperatures will only reach into the mid 50F’s for most, with 60F’s returning for Thursday and Friday. Next weekend temperatures will remain in the 60F’s, which is still well above average for this time of year.

There are slight chances of a few showers Thursday, then again on Saturday. Thanks to a lack of appreciable moisture in the air, however, no widespread precipitation is expected at this time.