Unseasonably warm weather arrives Monday

Temperatures were slightly warmer across the Weather First area today, under plenty of sunshine with breezy southerly winds. Overall, it was another beautiful late October day out there!

Temperatures have begun to drop across the area with the setting sun, but they will not drop nearly as much as they did Friday and Saturday night. This is due to an increase in the cloud cover expected later on in the night, as well as stronger southerly winds helping to bring warmer, slightly more humid air northward.

Low’s will be in the mid to upper 40F’s across most of southeastern Minnesota and northern Iowa, which is about 15F above the average low for this time of year. Winds will remain somewhat breezy out of the south at times, around 10 to 15 mph.

Monday will be a very warm day across the area by late October standards. Breezy southerly winds around 10 to 20 mph, gusting up to 30 to 35 mph at times, will continue to push warmer air northward. Clouds will increase throughout the day, with thicker cirrostratus clouds filtering out the sunshine at times. This won’t stop temperatures from climbing into the low 70F’s for all of the Weather First area though, which is about 20F above average for this time of year! It certainly isn’t going to feel like late October out there, that is for sure!

Despite the increased cloud cover, we will remain dry, given dew points still on the lower side, warm temperatures, and forcing remaining well to the west for the time being. Rain chances are in the forecast, but they hold off until the middle of the week.