Strong winds blowing in big cooldown
Enjoy the last few hours of warmth Thursday before we're back to autumnal reality.
Chris Shaffer was raised in Stillwater, Minnesota and left our great state for four years to attend the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he earned degrees in Meteorology and Mass Communications.
Chris is an Emmy award-winning meteorologist and a proud member of the American Meteorological Society. He has been awarded the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation. You may have seen him over the years doing the weather on television at KMSP FOX9 and WFTC/UPN 29. You may have also heard him back in his radio days on KOOL108, BOB100 (as Blaze Bodean), 104.1 The Point (as Cheeks), Cities 97, K102 (as Jack Wilde and himself) or KTLK.
It is no wonder why Chris is so passionate about Minnesota weather. His great uncle Wilbur was struck and killed by lightning while farming in southern Minnesota in the summer of 1952.
His family vehicle was once chased by a tornado near Maplewood, Minn. and one December on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house, his family spent the night snowed in at a church in Winthrop, Minn., praying the blizzard would let up so they could get to Redwood Falls and open their presents the next morning.
Chris and his wife have family members all around the Twin Cities. And it's natural to forecast for the entire region with family in Pipestone, St. Cloud, Willmar, Sartell and Blooming Prairie just to name a few.
Chris loves the weather because it is always changing and is a constant challenge, much like raising his three daughters, who are as loud as a thunderstorm, pretty as a sunset and strong as a straight-line wind.
And who can forget the family pets? They've had guinea pigs, a hermit crab, a turtle, a salamander, a frog and several fish. They currently have two goldfish and their awesome Boston Terrier, Bailey.
Enjoy the last few hours of warmth Thursday before we're back to autumnal reality.
A #Top10WXDay is coming at you Wednesday as the forecast leans warm and sunny.
Temperatures will be above average all week, and a couple of days could see highs in the 60s.
Temps will warm back to near and slightly above average Saturday. Breezy and cloudy with isolated showers possible in the afternoon.
Expect plenty of sunshine Thursday with seasonable highs in the mid-to-upper 40s.
Rain showers will dry up through Wednesday morning before any chance of sunshine later in the day.
Tuesday's high temperature of 48 degrees will be just above average, but cooler than the past few days.
It will be cool going into Saturday morning as we fall back to the 20s.
After a cloudy and mostly dry Wednesday, another push of rain works into the area this evening, lingering for most of Thursday.
After an early round of rain Tuesday morning, more showers and possible storms are likely to redevelop.
Some storms are possible late Monday night, with a slight chance of severe hail in southeastern Minnesota, including the metro.
A system will drag across Minnesota Wednesday, bringing scattered showers through Thursday.
Tuesday turned out to be a really nice fall day ahead of another rain system to arrive overnight.
Monday was a lovely fall day, featuring near-average highs and dominant sunshine. That should hold into Tuesday.
Rain will arrive late Thursday afternoon or early in the evening in the Twin Cities, and it will linger through Friday — which will be a NEXT Weather Alert day.