Minnesota weather: September is the new August

It's Oct. 4 in the Twin Cities and the trees are still green, people are swimming in lakes and homeowners aren't quite ready to cover up their air conditioners.

Why it matters: Minnesota and other Midwest states are often viewed as climate havens, Axios Des Moines' Linh Ta reports . But weather "whiplashes" like we've seen in the Twin Cities challenge that idea.

The big picture: September is one of the fastest-warming months in Minnesota and we just wrapped up the hottest on record.

State of play: With an average temperature of 70.4 degrees, Sept. 2024 was 6.9 degrees above normal at MSP Airport. We had 19 days when the mercury eclipsed 80 degrees.

• We've also been in a severe dry spell. A normal September brings nearly 3 inches of rain, according to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources data. We got just a sprinkle of 0.06 inches.

Flashback: Here's how recent weather whiplashes have played out in the Twin Cities.

• We had a crop-killing summer 2022 drought , followed by the third-snowiest winter on record.
• A drought that started in the summer of 2023 continued until this spring, when torrential rains caused flooding and threatened dams .
• Now, the Twin Cities are nearing another drought while other parts of the state are already there.

What's ahead: More of the same. The National Weather Service predicts above-average temperatures for the next two weeks, with no rain in the forecast.