When will fall finally arrive? A cooldown is on the way

Yes, it is now October, but it appears Mother Nature has not checked the calendar lately.

Record-high temperatures are putting fall on pause from Minnesota to Texas to Maine.

Keep those flannels, sweaters and pumpkin-spice lattes nearby, though.

Computer forecast models continue to show a rapid invasion of fall temperatures later this week and into the weekend.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is even hinting at the first frost of the season for some areas.

In many areas of the US, high temperatures could drop by 30 degrees between the beginning of this week and the upcoming weekend.

Talk about weather whiplash.

Record heat gives way

The mercury drops in the northern Plains and Rockies first.

A new storm and cold front, the leading edge of refreshing and crisp Canadian air, pushes through the central US through midweek. 

Minneapolis will drop from its high of 92 on Sunday – an all-time record for October – to the lower 70s midweek and the 50s for the end of the week.

On average, Aug. 27 is the last day Minneapolis hits 90 degrees for the year. But not in 2023, as organizers were forced to cancel the Twin Cities Marathon for “Black Flag Conditions” on Sunday when temperatures climbed into the lower 90s.

Oct. 1 is generally the last day the Twin Cities reach 80 degrees in an average year.

“Extreme and Dangerous Conditions: The latest weather forecast update projects record-setting heat conditions that do not allow a safe event for runners, supporters, and volunteers,” posted organizers on the website.

Even Texas will feel a bit of cooling relief. Residents have endured a summer-long heat wave.

The cold front won’t bring much cool air to the Lone Star State, but thunderstorms with heavy rain will shield the heat-weary state from the Sun to keep temperatures in check. 

After starting the week in the 90s, temperatures in Texas will drop into the 70s and 80s for midweek.

“In terms of the temperature departure from normal all through the South, up through the northern Plains here, 20 to 30 degrees above average,” FOX Weather meteorologist Haley Meier said.

“Unfortunately, we might have to hang up the flannels at least for the next few days. But notice on the very tail end of the screen here on this monitor, the blue, it is going to come into the area, and we will be returning temperatures back to normal.” 

The Northeast will be the last area to get the taste of fall.

By this weekend, computer forecast models are showing a second shot of cool air filtering across the center part of the country and pushing east. 

The models suggest that from Friday into the weekend, a secondary cold front could help to reinforce this leftover cold front, bringing with it another shot of cooler Canadian air into nearly the entire eastern US., according to the FOX Forecast Center.

The long-range outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) shows areas of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys very likely cooler from Oct. 7 to 11.

The cooldown won’t last long for the northern Plains, though. The CPC forecast puts the Northwest, the northern and central Rockies and the northern Plains in the likely warmer category for this weekend and early next week.