For those heading out tonight to take in some high school football, we have a summery evening ahead with warm temps, and low humidity.  Below is the evening forecast as well as a look at the cabin forecast for those who will be traveling.  Also, there’s a look back at August (at least the first 30 days.)

A pleasant, summer-like evening to start football season.If you're heading north for the holiday weekend, things look warm and pleasant for your getaway.We're ending August on a typically bright and warm note. The month of August as a whole was summery with a stretch of highs in the 70s keeping things from getting too far above normal with our temperatures.A warm and pleasant weather picture for those who heading up north for a weekend getaway.

A warm, pleasant weekend awaits those traveling up north for one final summer getaway.

Overall, August has been a warm month, but thanks to a stretch of two weeks in the 70s our average high temp is only slightly above normal.

Posted under climate, weather

A cool, dry air mass with its origins in northwestern Canada has settled into the region under a strong area of high pressure, making for a gorgeous, fall-like Labor Day for us.  In this cool scenario, we’re experiencing some of the coolest temperatures in the area since May.  In Rochester, our morning low of 43° was the coolest official reading since we dropped to 39° on May 17th.  Below is a look at some more area morning lows.  We’ll have similar temperatures tonight and then begin to see a slow rise in the overnight and daytime temperatures for the latter portion of the week.  Incidentally, the average low for this time of year would be about 55° and the lower 40s we’re experiencing right now would be more typical of early October.

We started our Labor Day with temperatures in the 40s and even in the 30s in some places.

MAX/MIN TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TABLE FOR
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
818 AM CDT MON SEP 5 2011

VALUES REPRESENT HIGHS YESTERDAY…LOWS OVER THE LAST 12 HOURS…
AND PRECIPITATION OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS

                                 HIGH   LOW   PCPN

TOB  : DODGE CENTER AWOS      MN :   63 /  39 / 0.00
AUM  : AUSTIN AWOS                   MN :   66 /  43 / 0.00
RST  : ROCHESTER ASOS               MN :   66 /  43 / 0.00
FKA  : PRESTON AWOS                  MN :   68 /  47 /   T
ONA  : WINONA AWOS                  MN :   68 /  48 / 0.00
:
CCY  : CHARLES CITY AWOS      IA :   66 /  45 / 0.00
DEH  : DECORAH AWOS                 IA :   66 /  46 / 0.00
OLZ  : OELWEIN AWOS                   IA :   68 /  46 / 0.00
:
MDZ  : MEDFORD AWOS                 WI :   63 /  41 / 0.00
BCK  : BLACK RIVER FALLS AWOS      WI :   64 /  37 / 0.00
LSE  : LA CROSSE ASOS                  WI :   69 /  47 / 0.01
CMY  : SPARTA-FT MCCOY AWOS       WI :   65 /  40 / 0.00
VOK  : VOLK FIELD ASOS             WI :   68 /  37 /   T
Y51  : VIROQUA AWOS                 WI :   65 /  46 / 0.00
PDC  : PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS        WI :   68 /  47 / 0.00
OVS  : BOSCOBEL ASOS                  WI :   72 /  44 / 0.00
PVB  : PLATTEVILLE AWOS        WI :   68 /  46 / 0.00

Posted under fall

A strong cold front is sliding through the area this evening, ushering in some much cooler, drier air for our area and allowing us to get a preview of what we would normally expect in early to mid fall…at least for a couple of days.  The breezy, cool weather we’re expecting for Sunday will look and feel much like the weather we’d normally experience in the final days of September or early October.  The one big difference will be the lack of fall color right now.  That will come in due time.  Sunday and Monday will feature highs in the mid 60s, which by the looks of the graphic below, will be more typical of the last day of the month than the third or fourth.  If you’re still hoping for a little more summer in our area, we do have some good news, though, as a slow warming trend is ahead with sunny skies each day and temperatures climbing into the lower and then middle 70s for the upcoming week with readings possibly closing in on 80° by next weekend.  Incidentally, the latest outlook from the Climate PredictionCenter has our area looking at average temperatures and below average rainfall for the rest of the month and, with the exception of the next two or three days, that looks to be the trend in the next week or two from the looks of things. 

The “new look” 30 year climate averages for the rest of September reflect a gradual drop in temperatures from the mid 70s to mid 60s by the end of the month while we expect to lose almost an hour and a half of daylight.

Posted under climate, fall

Severe T-Storm Watch until 1AM Tuesday

8:00 pm update: Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 1 AM for the counties outlined in the blue (see image). Rochester, Decorah, Winona, Wabasha included in the Watch.

Biggest threats will be hail and high winds…heavy rain and dangerous lightning, too!

Remember that severe thunderstorms can and often without little warning spawn tornadoes. I’m saying this tonight because there’s still some doozy spin in our atmosphere.

Posted under Holidays, severe weather

Slight risk for severe weather Monday

Our entire area (as of tonight) is under a slight risk for severe weather on Monday. Here’s my thinking behind this:

1) The bulk of the day will be dry as we should be capped – a warm front will hang out to our north tomorrow. South winds south of the warm front will try to bring moisture and warmth to the area. Look for highs (if we see enough sun) to hit the mid/upper 70s. More clouds will keep temps in the low 70s and also limit severe weather. How much moisture will return is also in question. Less moisture = not a lot of oomph for severe weather.

2) The low pressure track will come across southern Minnesota late Monday. So, although there may not be a ton of moisture or instability, there will be plenty of spin (or, shear, if you will) in the atmosphere. Storms love shear.

3) It will be windy later Monday and overnight into Tuesday. Tuesday, btw, will be cooler and cloudy. Ah yes, a perfect fall feel: cue the Back To School music!

Stay tuned for any development on Monday. Labor Day WON’T be a washout, and we very well may be able to squeak by dry the entire day. But just incase – and if you’re outside tomorrow – have a means of getting weather info handy.

Enjoy your Labor Day!

Posted under Holidays, severe weather

Wondering what the hottest temperature has been on Labor Day? How about rainfall amounts? Chilly overnight lows? The NWS La Crosse has it all in their Labor Day Climate.

Looks like one more day (Tuesday) of our recent streak of dry, sunny days…rain chances are back on Wednesday, and Thursday, and Friday, and…into the weekend. Infact, this weekend is appearing to want to shape up feeling way more fall-ish.

Have a safe and very much enjoyable Labor Day!

Posted under KTTC

Quiet weather is a lock for our holiday weekend with sunshine, warm days, and mild nights.  There just isn’t much more to brag up, weatherwise aside from that.  Our midweek rain was a huge help to the moderate drought that has developed, easing concerns while we enjoy sunny warmth this weekend.

There will be change in the weather by next Tuesday with an increased chance for showers and thunderstorms.  Whether or not Gustav is going to have any impact on our regional weather is still uncertain, but not out of the question.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Posted under KTTC, weather