September starts cool and wet up north:
Over the first 4 days of September average temperatures are running from 4°F to 7°F below normal. More than 30 climate stations in northern Minnesota have already reported morning low temperatures in the 30s F. The observer at Indus (Koochiching County), along Highway 11 west of International Falls along the border with Canada reported just 33°F on Thursday morning this week. These morning low temperatures in the 30s F may help promote some early fall color change in some areas of northern Minnesota. Fall color seekers may want to monitor the Minnesota DNR Fall Color maps on their web site staring next week to more closely follow progress of the autumn color change.
Temperatures are expected to rebound to above normal daily values starting Monday and Tuesday of next week and continuing for most of the remainder of the month. So, the current cool spell will be relatively short-lived.
Rainfall has been highly variable around Minnesota mostly ranging from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch in total through the first 4 days of the month. Some northern areas have reported over an inch of rain. Among these are Gunflint Lake with 1.54 inches, Brainerd with 1.48 inches, and Duluth with 1.28 inches.
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
NOAA researchers have come up with a new Hourly Wildfire Potential Index that can be very useful during the wildfire season. This new tool is expected to be used by forecasters, land managers, emergency response officials, and firefighters. More details can be found at the NOAA web site.
The United Kingdom Meteorological Office issue a press release earlier this week that the summer of 2025 (June-August) was the warmest of record across the United Kingdom going all the way back to 1884. The persistent warmer than normal temperature were attributed to drier soil conditions, as well as warmer surrounding sea surface temperatures. The five warmest summers in the nation’s records have all occurred since 2003.
The NOAA National Hurricane Center is carefully monitoring Tropical Storm Lorena and Hurricane Kiko in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Lorena may bring some heavy rains and flash flooding to portions of the desert southwest, notably southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico through Saturday. Hurricane Kiko may bring some strong winds and rains to the Big Island of Hawaii by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. September is typically one of the busiest months for the National Hurricane Center
MPR listener question:
With all the Heat Advisories issued this recent summer, we were wondering what is the latest date that Minnesota has recorded a daily high temperature of 100°F or greater.
Answer:
And the answer is: on September 22 of 1936 the climate observer at Ada (Norman County) along Highway 9 in the Red River Valley reported a high temperature of 101°F. For the Twin Cities the latest date is September 10 of 1931 when it reached 104°F.
Twin Cities Almanac for September 5th:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 77 degrees F (plus or minus 10 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 59 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for September 5th:
MSP records for this date: highest daily maximum temperature of 98 degrees F in 1922; lowest daily maximum temperature of 57 degrees F in 1873; lowest daily minimum temperature of 36 degrees F in 1962; highest daily minimum temperature of 77 degrees F in 1912; and record precipitation of 2.57 inches in 1946. There has not been any snowfall on this date.
Average dew point for September 5th is 55°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 78°F in 1990 and the minimum dew point on this date is 31 degrees F in 1929.
All-time state records for September 5th:
The state record high temperature for this date is 103 degrees F at Tracy (Lyon County) in 1922. The state record low temperature for this date is 23 degrees F at Park Rapids (Hubbard County) in 1885. The state record precipitation for this date is 5.38 inches at Waseca (Waseca County) in 2018. No snowfall has occurred on this date.
Past Weather:
On the morning of September 5 in 1885 there was widespread frost across northern Minnesota and spotty frost across southern Minnesota. Most places reported morning lows in the 30s F, but it was just 26°F at Moorhead and 23°F at Park Rapids.
September 5 of 1945 brought record heat to most places in Minnesota. Many areas reported afternoon high temperatures in the 90s F and four counties in southwestern Minnesota reached 100°F. The cool spot was Two Harbors where it just reached 65°F.
Strong thunderstorms brought heavy rains and flash flooding to much of southeastern Minnesota over September 4-5 of 2018. Many areas reported 3 to 5 inches of rainfall, while Rochester and Waseca reported over 6 inches. Portions of Interstate 90 were closed for a time because of too much water, and other state roads and highways were closed as well.
Outlook:
Mostly sunny and dry weekend with cooler than normal temperatures. There will be a chance for showers on Monday and Tuesday as temperatures warm closer to normal or even above normal for this time of year. The remainder of next week looks warmer than normal with chance for showers..
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