Widespread freeze expected by Tuesday morning across Minnesota which effectively ends the growing season

Cool weather Sunday night. But get ready for a little cooler the next couple of nights and it might signal the end of the growing season in Minnesota.

National Weather Service forecaster Eric Ahasic says below freezing is on the way.

"We'll see temperatures probably falling in the 20s everywhere in the state," says Ahasic.

That's because it won't be as cloudy and windy as Sunday.

"Clear, calm nights, we get what's called radiational cooling," explained Ahasic. "All that heat from the Earth gets radiated out the space. If you have a layer of clouds, it almost acts like in a blanket. Traps some of that heat, transmits it back to the ground. So you feel a little bit warmer on cloudy nights versus clear nights."

If you have plants that survived Sunday night's frost and want them to hang on, get them inside. The core of the Twin Cities metro might see temps stay above the freezing mark thanks to the urban heat island effect that keeps temperatures slightly warmer. Daytime temperatures in urban areas are about 1–7°F higher than temperatures in outlying areas and nighttime temperatures are about 2-5°F higher.

If you're in the suburbs and certainly beyond the Twin Cities though, you'll have to cover and protect anything that you'd like to keep alive a bit longer.

"Anything that hadn't already died off vegetation-wise the last week or two with various frosts and freezes, it'll be done growing by Tuesday morning," says Ahasic.

There is a group of Minnesotans who celebrate this first widespread freeze of course: allergy sufferers . By Tuesday morning that season will also come to an end.

After this taste of fall weather, temperatures are expected back into the 70s by the end of the week. If you're looking for some rain, keep looking. There's a slight chance for precipitation Friday and Saturday but the dry weather looks like it'll continue.