“2018 Atlantic, Pacific Hurricane Season Most Active on Record”
This hurricane season is the busiest we’ve ever seen—and we still have more than a month to go before it’s over. If you combine all the hurricanes and tropical storms that formed in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceansthis year, the 2018 hurricane season is the most active in recorded history, USA TODAY reported, citing Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach. To measure the activity of a hurricane season, meteorologists use the Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index which takes into account the combined number, strength and duration of tropical cyclones that formed. The average ACE for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific seasons together is 221 units of energy. But this year? The combined Atlantic/Pacific ACE is 432, breaking the previous record of 371 set in 1992, according to Klotzbach.”
__________________________________________________________________________Super Typhoon Yutu

Weather Outlook
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Fall Color Peeping
MN DNR Fall Color Update
Hey, it’s Halloween next Wednesday and thanks to @Climatologist49 on Twitter for the image below, which shows the historical probability of a white Halloween.
White Halloweens in Minneapolis
Here’s a look at snowfall data on Halloween for Minneapolis and since 1899 (119 years of data), there has only been snow reported on 20 days and only 6 days with measureable snow (0.1″ or more). Of course, who could forget the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. A record 8.2″ of snow fell on Halloween day itself, but the storm dumped a total of 28.4″ at the MSP Airport – UNREAL!
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What’s in the Night Sky?
According to EarthSky.org this is what will be visible in the night sky over the next several nights:
“The planets Mercury and Jupiter appear quite close together on the sky’s dome during the last several days of October 2018. Far and away, though, the Southern Hemisphere has the advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for witnessing this celestial attraction in the deepening glow of evening twilight. But even from southerly latitudes, Mercury and Jupiter sit rather low in the sky at sunset, and then follow the sun beneath the horizon around nightfall. Our feature sky chart at top is for around 35 degrees south latitude to accommodate our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. We figure that all places north of the tropic of Cancer will have difficulty catching Mercury and Jupiter (especially Mercury) after sunset, although EarthSky watchers have surprised us before and may well surprise us again. Given an unobstructed horizon at 35 degrees north latitude, Mercury struggles to stay out as long as one hour after the sun, whereas Jupiter stays out for about one hour and 10 minutes after sunset. In the days ahead, Mercury will set a little later and Jupiter a little earlier. Given a level horizon at 35 degrees south latitude, Mercury and Jupiter stay out for a whopping 1 3/4 hours after the sun. In the days ahead – just as in the Northern Hemisphere – Mercury will set a little later and Jupiter a little earlier. Want to know when the sun, Mercury and Jupiter set in your sky? Click here if you live in the US or Canada, or click here if you live elsewhere worldwide.”
1.) Periods of heavy precipitation over western Washington, Mon-Fri, Oct 29-Nov 2.
2.) Periods of heavy precipitation over portions of the northern Rockies, Wed-Fri, Oct 31-Nov 2.
3.) Heavy snow for portions of the central Rockies, Wed-Thu, Oct 31-Nov 1.
4.) Periods of heavy rain from the general vicinity of the Lower Mississippi Valley northeast to the Upper Ohio Valley, Wed-Fri, Oct 31-Nov 2.
5.) Slight risk of heavy precipitation from the Lower Mississippi Valley eastward and northeastward to most of the Atlantic Coast, Sat, Nov 3.
6.) Slight risk of heavy precipitation for the northern and central Rockies, Sat-Sun, Nov 3-4.
7.) Slight risk of heavy precipitation for south-central and southeastern Alaska (including the Panhandle), Sat-Fri, Nov 3-9.
8. High winds and high significant wave heights for southwestern Alaska, Tue-Fri, Nov 6-9.
Flooding imminent/occurring over parts of Texas, and along the banks of the north-central Mississippi River.
9.) Severe Drought across the Central Rockies, the Northeast, the Central Great Basin, the Northern Plains, the Southern Plains, the Northern Great Basin, the Southern Rockies, California, the Northern Rockies, the Alaska Panhandle, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest.
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Subtropical Storm Oscar in the Atlantic
Another named storm has developed in the Atlantic Basin and it’s Oscar! The good news is that this storm is not expected to impact the US and it slowly drifts north over the next few days.

Tracking Oscar
Here’s a look at the official NHC track for Oscar, which shows it drifiting west through the weekend and could briefly become a hurricane early next week as it turns north. Again, the good news is that this storm is expected to remain a “Fish” storm and stay over open water.

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