Old Farmer’s Almanac Predicts Rochester’s September Weather

Who says you need all those fancy forecasting models or latest Doppler radar images to predict what kind of weather we'll have in Rochester this month?

Thanks to a quirk in our calendar here in 2020 (because, of course!) the first week of September is kind of caught in no-man's land: It's September, which, of course, means fall... but Labor Day isn't until Monday, so it also still feels kind of like summer.

But now that it IS September, what can we expect the weather to be like here in Minnesota's Med City? Well, sure, you can check the forecast from actual scientific sources, like the National Weather Service.

Or, you can just page through the Old Farmer's Almanac and their 2020 Long Range Weather Forecast for the Upper Midwest. (Even though their map almost makes it look like Rochester isn't included, we're still considered part of the 'Upper Midwest,' along with fellow Minnesota cities like Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, and Duluth; as well as parts of northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Penninsula.)

So what's their prediction? Well, from September 1st through the 4th, the OFA (as the kids say) calls for it to be 'cool' with 'rainy periods.' Well, we DID set a new rainfall record on Monday, but that was still technically August, and the NWS forecast for the rest of this week doesn't have much rain in it at all. It will be fairly cool, at least on Tuesday and Thursday, with highs in the low 70's, so there's that.

Next up, the OFA says it'll be 'sunny, turning warmer' September 5th through the 14th. Which kind of puts it at odds compared to the NWS forecast, which calls for highs in the mid 70's this weekend, but then cooler temps in the low to mid 60's into next week. (In fairness, the OFA does predict 'showers' and 'cool' weather from 9/10 - 9/16, so that's kinda close, isn't it?)

Sunshine and warmer temps are on the docket for our neck of the woods to round out September, the OFA says. Which COULD happen, right? I'm not putting a lot of stock in their forecast, mind you, but it's kind of interesting to see how their outlook compares with the actual forecast, isn't it? At least neither one has any of the white stuff heading our way this month!

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