Chippewa Falls, WI Weather

Key Messages

- One more very warm day Saturday, then temperatures retreat back to near normal.

- Multiple chances for rain from this afternoon through Wednesday.

Discussion

Issued at 147 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

A band of showers from western to south central MN continues to progress eastward this afternoon at about 20 kts. There have been a few isolated thunderstorms and brief heavy downpours embedded within the band, especially during the late morning and midday. Intensity will continue waning as the afternoon progresses and chances are low it will reach WI. South winds have been gusty today and temperatures have once again reached the 70s ahead of the band of rain where sun has been prevalent.

A cold front over Montana today will propagate east tonight and reach the Upper Midwest Saturday. A warm and somewhat moist airmass will keep lows quite mild tonight, likely remaining in the low 60s. Temperatures will warm quickly ahead of the front which is expected to be passing through western MN mid to late morning. Highs across southern/eastern MN and WI should reach the mid to possibly upper 70s before tumbling behind the front. Another band of showers will develop along the front throughout the day, then weaken and scatter by evening across southern MN and WI. A few showers may linger through Sunday.

The front will stall across the mid MS Valley Sunday, then lift back to the north Monday and Tuesday as an upper low over the desert Southwest finally ejects northeast across the Plains. This compact system will bring rain to the central Plains Sunday night and the Upper Midwest Monday into early Tuesday. QPF is pretty impressive along the track of the low from Nebraska to eastern SD and western MN where amounts may exceed 1-1.5 inches.

Another system may follow quickly on the heels of the early week system Tuesday night and Wednesday. There is still quite a bit of model spread after Tuesday, leading to continuing chances of showers and low confidence. Ridging will try to build back late week and temperatures may trend back above normal for Halloween weekend.

Aviation

Issued at 1148 PM CDT Fri Oct 23 2026

Once again the main concerns for the period will be periods of -SHRA mainly along the cold front arriving midway through, alongside breezy winds to start with winds expected to shift from 160-180 towards 240-270 and eventually 300-330 behind the cold front. Generally even with -SHRA we should remain mainly VFR with a few periods of MVFR mainly due to visibility, with the -SHRA remaining weak and CIGS dropping to around 050. The shower chances and whether to handle with prob30/TEMPO/prevailing will continue to be modified as we move through the next few TAF periods.

KMSP...No significant changes from the 00z TAF. Main addition was adding some clouds on the tail end of the period. Mostly VFR with small pockets of MVFR possible with -SHRA from roughly 22-02z.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ SUN...VFR, chc -SHRA/MVFR. Wind N 5kts. MON...-RA/MVFR likely, chc IFR. Wind NE 5-10kts. TUE...-SHRA/MVFR. Wind E 5-10kts.

Mpx Watches

MN...None. WI...None.