Most of the week's weather happened on one day. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, MSP picked up 0.92" of rain. The other days added up to just 0.16": 0.13" the Sunday before the week started and 0.03" on Saturday. That puts the 7-day total at 1.08", and almost all of it came in that single Tuesday soaking. If your basement window well or the low corner of your yard looked worse than usual midweek, that's the reason.
The rain came with mild air. Tuesday's low only dropped to 62°, and Wednesday night was even warmer at 63°. Afternoon highs mostly stayed in the upper 60s to low 70s and peaked at 72° on both Monday and Wednesday.
Then fall showed up. Thursday's low dropped to 50°, and Friday was the coolest day of the week: a high of only 64° and a low of 44°. If you got in your car Friday morning and wanted a jacket, you weren't imagining it. Saturday warmed back up to 71°. There were no records, no snow and nothing dramatic, just a normal early-October week with one wet day.
The next few days look easy. The National Weather Service has today sunny with a high near 67° and a light northwest breeze of 5 to 10 mph. Tonight should be clear with a low around 45°, so bring in anything on the patio that doesn't like the cold.
Monday looks about the same: sunny with a high near 68°. Monday night is the one to watch. A south wind of 10 to 15 mph keeps the low up around 56°, and that southerly flow sets up Tuesday, the best day in the forecast. Expect sunshine, a high near 76° and a west-southwest wind around 10 mph. Tuesday night should be mostly clear with a low around 54°.
So if you've been putting off something outside, like the last mow, cleaning the gutters after that Tuesday downpour, or a long walk while the leaves are turning, the next 3 days are a good time to do it. Rain isn't in the forecast through Tuesday night, and Tuesday will be warmer than any day last week. Don't count on a stretch like this lasting deep into October.
For the next 12 hours and today's records, see Bloomington weather; for the days ahead, the 10-day forecast.
