A Cold, Blustery Election Day

It is going to be mostly cloudy, colder and breezy on Election Day. High temperatures will only reach the mid 30s this afternoon with northwesterly wind gusts to between 30 and 35 mph. Gusts to 40+ mph are possible across Central and Western South Dakota today. Bundle up if you’re going to be outside. The wind is going to make it feel a lot colder than it actually is. In addition to the wind and cold, a few scattered light snow showers will be possible across Northeastern of South Dakota and West Central Minnesota later this afternoon into this evening.

I hate to say it, but today is actually one of the warmest days on the 7 Day Forecast. Between now and the weekend we will get socked with a couple blasts of cold, Canadian Air. Each will knock our temperatures a little lower and bring a little gift of light snow.

The first system will kick through tonight. As I mentioned above, scattered light snow showers will be possible across Northeastern South Dakota and West Central Minnesota this afternoon into this evening. Light snow flurries will be possible across the rest of the region, including Sioux Falls, overnight. Accumulation will be light. Tomorrow will be colder but not as windy as today. Highs will only reach the low 30s tomorrow afternoon.

A system to our south could bring a little light snow to places south of I-90 on Thursday. The next cold blast will come Thursday night into Friday. This one will bring light snow Thursday night into Friday and drop high temps into the low to mid 20s by Friday afternoon. There could be some minor snow accumulation with this system.

The weekend will warm up a little. Just a little. Saturday and Sunday will be partly to mostly cloudy with high temps in the 30s. We could catch another shot of cold air and a little more light snow by early next week. Unfortunately, our long-range models don’t show much of a break from the cold until about the middle of November. I’ll keep a close eye on things and let you know if that changes.

A Great Night for Trick-or-Treating!

It is going to be a really nice day and an absolutely fantastic evening for all of the trick-or-treaters running around the neighborhood. Today will be sunny with high temps in the mid to upper 50s. This evening will be clear with just a light breeze. Trick-or-Treat temperatures will start in the low 50s at 5 pm and gradually fall into the mid 40s by about 8 pm.

Dry, mild weather will stick around through tomorrow and then our weather pattern will begin to change with several systems impacting the region over the weekend and into next week.

Our first system will bring scattered showers to parts of the region Thursday night into Friday morning. Rainfall amounts will be relatively light – a few hundredths of an inch or less. In addition, a few places could catch a few snowflakes late Thursday night into Friday morning, but again amounts will be light with no accumulation expected. Showers will end early Friday morning but Friday will remain mostly cloudy with cooler high temps in the mid to upper 40s.

The next system will roll in Saturday and will be carrying a bit more moisture than the first. Saturday will be cloudy and cooler with rain. Rainfall amounts will generally be in the 0.10 to 0.20 inch range but some places could get 0.25 inch or even a little more. There could be snow mixed in with the rain at times, but at this point it looks like snowfall amounts will be relatively light.

Finally, there is yet another system that could bring light rain and perhaps a little snow late Monday into Tuesday. Temperatures will stay below average – in the low to mid 40s – through the middle of next week.

More Sunshine Today, Rain Is on the Way

Dry weather will continue for a couple more days, but we do have some rain in the forecast later this week.

Today will be sunny and cooler. High temperatures will range from the low to mid 50s in Sioux Falls and places east of the James River to the low 60s across Central South Dakota. Once again, the wind will be fairly light throughout the day.

Tomorrow will be mostly dry with scattered rain developing across South Central South Dakota tomorrow afternoon. Rain will move east tomorrow night into Thursday. Some places could get 0.25 inch or more.

The weekend will be partly cloudy with scattered showers possible both Friday night and Saturday night. High temperatures will stay in the 50s through the weekend.

Feelin’ Like August Today, November Tomorrow

If you’ve been holding on for one more chance to wear your favorite shorts, jorts, tank top, summer dress, etc., today is your day. Well, you might want to avoid the dress because it’s going to be really windy, but you get my point. It is going to be a warm, summerlike day. And it’s only today… By tomorrow you’ll be scrambling for your long pants and winter coat.

We will start with clouds and even an isolated shower or thundershower this morning, but by this afternoon it will be sunny, windy and warm. High temps will range from around 80 degrees in Sioux Falls to the upper 80s around Yankton, Vermillion and Sioux City. The wind will switch to the northwest and increase this afternoon. Gusts to between 30 and 40 mph are likely into this evening.

The cold front will move across Central and Northern South Dakota by later this morning and that means cooler high temperatures earlier in the day. Both Aberdeen and Pierre will reach the upper 60s to low 70s with northwesterly wind gusts to between 40 and 50 mph through much of the afternoon and into this evening.

That front will blast through all of South Dakota and half way across Minnesota and Iowa by early evening. Which means that by the time this system starts producing thunderstorms, it should be well east of our KSFY coverage area. There is, however a chance of severe weather across Southeastern Minnesota, Northeastern Iowa and Western Wisconsin later this afternoon into this evening.

Tomorrow will be much, much colder. High temps will be about 30 to 40 degrees colder than they’re going to be today. Clouds will increase by tomorrow afternoon with showers likely tomorrow afternoon and night. We’re looking at about one-quarter inch or less of rain through tomorrow night.

Friday will be mostly cloudy with high temps warming back into the upper 50s. We’ll see some sunshine on Saturday with rain developing late Sunday. Highs will stay in the low to mid 50s through the weekend. We are keeping an eye on a system that could bring measurable rain Sunday night, Monday into Tuesday. Some of our forecast models are suggesting that we could get one to two inches with that system. It’s still early and there’s a lot that can change between now and then, but it’s definitely something we will be watching over the next several days.

Sunny and Comfortable Through the Weekend

High pressure will keep us sunny and comfortable through the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend. Today will be sunny with highs ranging from the mid 70s in Sioux Falls to the upper 70s along the James Valley to the low 80s across Central and Western South Dakota. That is just slightly below our average high temperature for this time of year.

The weekend will be about the same with plenty of sunshine and high temps in the 70s. Central and Western South Dakota will be a bit warmer with highs reaching the mid 80s by Sunday.

The one and only chance of rain on the 7 Day Forecast will come in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms late Sunday and Sunday night across Central and Northern South Dakota.

Our pattern will begin to shift early next week as southerly flow brings back the heat and humidity. By next Tuesday and Wednesday high temps return to the upper 70s to low 80s in Sioux Falls while much of Central and Western South Dakota soar back into the 90s.