A pair of hot, summer-like days on October 10th and 11th set some important records across parts of southern and central Minnesota.
Strong southerly winds ahead of a broad area of low pressure in the Dakotas steered dry and very warm air into the Upper Midwest just in time for the weekend. The surge of heat on Saturday was intense, with 90-degree F temperatures blanketing the southern half of the state, and with 80s F making it into the Iron Range. St, Cloud observed a high of 90 F, breaking the daily high temperature record, and also breaking the record for latest date to reach 90 F or higher; incidentally, that record had just been set last year, when St. Cloud hit 91 F on October 4th. The Twin Cities also recorded 90 F, tying the record high for the date with the year 1928, and thus also tying the record for the latest 90 F on record. The heat wave of October 10, 1928 appears to have had an extremely similar shape and magnitude to this event.
The heat surged back in on October 11th, breaking more daily records in the southeastern third of Minnesota, and sending the temperature to 90 F again in the Twin Cities. This reading demolished the previous record high of 85 F from 2015, set the new record for latest date to reach 90 F (having just tied that record the day before), and 2026 became the first year in 154 years of record in the Twin Cities to have two October dates record 90 F or higher.
This spell of extremely warm weather continues what has become an unprecedented and historic run of years with unusual summer warmth during fall. Rare and record-setting 90-degree weather occurred in 2023 and 2025 also. Oddly, the records for latest 90 F temperatures set in 2023, were broken in 2025, and then those records were broken again in 2026! Additionally, each of the last four Septembers had top or very high-ranking warmth.
October 12, 2026
KAB