NWS: Enjoy mild temps while they last

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Oct. 27, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Enjoy the mild temperatures while they last, the National Weather Service says, but you can be sure that Old Man Winter is on his way.

The mild temperatures and lack of precipitation embracing northern Minnesota for the last week will continue through the weekend, NWS Senior Meteorologist Dan Riddle said Tuesday. And those trick or treating Saturday should have a dry Halloween for a change.

Riddle said the jet stream blowing dry, warm air in from the west is keeping the region's temperatures mild and forcing the colder air we normally endure north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

But that jet stream could change by the middle of next week, cooling things off and crushing the dream of a mild November.

"We're in the changing of the seasons; so it's hard to say what is typical," he said. "October is one of the driest months in our region. It's not unusual to have this benign weather."

The region could see a dry Halloween, Riddle said, a rarity since the first snow usually falls within a couple days either side of it.

He added that the western jet stream should keep the first snow at bay at least until next week.

In the region today, there should be partly cloudy skies with a northwest wind reaching 10 to 15 mph. Highs should reach the lower 50s.

Thursday will be dry and mild with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

Friday represents the region's only chance for precipitation for the next week, Riddle said. The cold front moving in Friday should drop temperatures and may cause some slight rain showers, but nothing drastic.

Temperatures should rise to the mid-40s for Halloween and even further into the 50s for Sunday.

"Through Thursday it looks good," Riddle said. "And I don't foresee a lot of rain Friday, less than a .25 inch. The system should clear Saturday."