Expect warmer fall days in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- On Sept. 30, we were 87°F for a high -- but by the weekend we'll be lucky to hit 50°F. Fall has been off to a weird start feeling more like summer and raining more like spring.

Milwaukee average Fall temperature increase since 1970 in Milwaukee. 2017 has a noticeable spike thanks to a very warm September and start to October which set many record high temps.



Since 1970, our fall season is 3.6°F warmer. Walking down the street you wouldn't notice the difference. But to vegetation and the animals that rely on it, this increase in average temperatures can have a dramatic impact. Longer lasting droughts and more frequent floods can be correlated to this warming pattern.

The number of Fall days that have above average high temps since 1970 in Milwaukee.



Weather is what you get -- and climate is what you expect. Having above-average and below-average temperatures is quite normal. It's the mean of those extremes that give us our climate expectations. For our fall, we can now expect 16 more above average days than what we did back in 1970.

Change in average temperature in Fall since 1970 per decade for the Upper Midwest. Some areas are 3°F warmer!



It's not just us that's seeing a fall warming trend. The entire Great Lakes region is seeing warming average temperatures in autumn -- with the fastest increase impacting northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Individual locations vary in their average temperature increase.

Change in total precip accumulation for Fall each decade since 1970. A swath from Texas to Minnesota is noticeably dryer while the East Coast is seeing more rainfall this time of year.



Although many areas of Wisconsin are experiencing flooding for fall 2019, we are on average drier since 1970 this time of year. Although it's not a huge change in precipitation for the season here in southeast Wisconsin, areas like eastern Oklahoma and northern California have seen much bigger drops in fall rain. As referenced earlier in the article, flood and drought events can be expected more frequently with a warming climate.

To do more research on your own feel free to check out:


    They are all safe websites that help fellow weather enthusiasts learn more about climate data in their area.