Fall Color Update

Fall colors at Father Hennepin State Park on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

I just got back from a trip up to the Mille Lacs Kathio/Father Hennepin areas in Minnesota, and the colors on Monday and Tuesday were in full force! Here were the yellows that I saw Tuesday at Father Hennepin. With Tuesday’s gusty winds, the leaves were certainly starting to be stripped from the trees.

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National Weather Forecast

We are tracking two systems in the central/eastern United States that will be the main focus for precipitation on Thursday. The first, a cold front stretching from the eastern Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast in the morning hours, brings showers and storms along the Eastern and Gulf Coasts. A different system, somewhat stuck in the Great Lakes, will bring rain and snow chances.

Most precipitation through the end of the week will fall in the eastern half of the nation, with quiet weather out west. Areas of southern Mississippi and Alabama, as well as parts of New England, could see over three inches of rain.

Meanwhile, an inch or two of snow could fall across portions of the upper Midwest due to an area of low pressure near the Great Lakes and persistent northwest flow bringing in chilly air.

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A wetter world is changing farm country. Can growers adapt?

More from the Star Tribune: “Corn was just starting to tassel across much of the Midwest, including fields in southern Indiana, a golden crown signaling the end of the season. But while most farmers were preparing for harvest, Ray McCormick was climbing back into his tractor to re-plant his soybeans. The southwest Indiana farmer had to re-drill soybeans in August last year after two heavy rains on his river-bottom field wiped out a spring-planted corn crop and a July soybean crop. … McCormick’s delayed planting is one example of how a changing climate — and the rains that come with it — are transforming farm country in the Mississippi River watershed.

With Hotter Temperatures Come More Football Deaths

More from Sports Illustrated: “Before the Friday-night lights of the fall, there is the weekday afternoon heat of the summer. Scorching, oppressive days of merciless, withering triple-digit temperatures that come accessorized with carpets of humidity. It makes for the kind of conditions that are singularly ill-suited for running around outdoors, never mind doing so while wearing an insulated helmet, and wreathed in a 20-pound carapace of pads. But the coming of football season requires that teams start coordinating offenses, configuring defenses and defining their depth charts. The athletes need to start putting playbooks into practice and improving their conditioning.

GM’s electric future extends far beyond cars

More from Axios: “GM is transforming into more than an electric car company. It’s becoming a diversified energy company — selling battery technology and energy management services to power not just cars, but also trains, boats, commercial equipment and buildings. Why it matters: Parlaying its battery and fuel cell expertise into other uses is a natural extension for GM, which aims to double annual revenue to $280 billion by 2030. What’s happening: The automaker is creating a new business unit, GM Energy, that will sell energy storage and management services to residential and commercial customers.

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

– D.J. Kayser