After a warm, dry summer, Borderland residents are getting out their rubber boots and turning on the heat.
With last week bringing hail and temperatures in the teens, and this week bringing high winds and rain, Rick Hluchan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, predicts summer is on its way out and fall and winter are on their way in.
“About this time of year, the temperatures seem to just drop a degree every two or three days until we’re in the negatives,” he said.
While the northland hasn’t seen temperatures in the negatives yet, it has seen a fair share of chilly temperature in the past few days.
“Colder air seems to be the trend so far this month,” Hluchan said.
Last week brought on firsts for not only International Falls, but for the Duluth NWS as well. The Falls’ low temperature of 19 degrees recorded around 7 a.m. Sept. 15 broke the record low for a September temperature of 24 degrees set in 1964.
This is the coldest temperature reported for so early in the season, Hluchan reported. The chilly temperature also marked the first time in station history that a temperature in the teens has been recorded in the month of September.
“That system was odd,” Hluchan said. “That cooler weather was early for its time — we usually don’t see weather like that until into October.”
Last week’s cold pattern continued with a widespread freeze across much of the Northland that may have marked the end of the above ground growing season, but warmer weather may be in the cards to return this weekend Hluchan said.
“We have a big area of high pressure that will move in behind this low pressure system from the plains,” he said. “It will basically cover the entire center part of the country and we will be effected by this as well.”
Hluchan said today through at least Tuesday, will have sunny skies with the lows in the 40s and the highs up into the 70s.
Wind and rain
After a dryer August, the International Falls area has experienced rain during the last few days.
Hluchan told The Journal Wednesday that the large amounts of rain Tuesday made it the “wettest day so far this month.” Tuesday’s rain accumulated to a total of .69 inches of rain, making September’s total rainfall amount to 1.63 inches.
“The reason we had so much rain Tuesday was because we had a large area of low pressure that moved from North Dakota into northern Minnesota,” Hluchan said. “International Falls was on the north end of the system and saw most of the rain.”
Hluchan noted the wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area ignited by lightening Aug. 18, and how this week’s rain has been “good for the fires.”
What hasn’t been in the fire’s favor was the high winds associated with the same low pressure system that brought in last week’s chill.
“We see high winds when a new system is squeezing its way in over the current one,” Hluchan said.
Tuesday, winds picked up throughout the day and peaked at 21 miles per hour in the afternoon. Wednesday, the blowing continued with gusts as high as 25 miles per hour sustained at 20 miles per hour, Hluchan explained.
“The winds may continue to pick up as the winds shift away,” he added.
As the week goes on, Hluchan said cooler air is expected to sweep into the area from Canada, which had some areas in Ontario reporting snow on Wednesday.
“We won’t see the snow just yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too far out,” Hluchan warned. “The next few days will be one of the last stretches of beautiful weather. Take advantage of the weekend.”
