You knew it was coming. The inevitable cooling trend is just a couple days away. While temperatures will remain above normal today and Saturday, indications are that cooler weather will arrive on Sunday.

The average high is in the upper 60s. We shouldn’t have any problem getting warmer than that today and tomorrow with some places perhaps topping 80 degrees. Then a cold front will come through tomorrow night. This front will be the leading edge of a cooler air mass that will settle across Wisconsin for several days. It looks like temperatures may be running below normal for at least the first half of next week.

The cooler weather will certainly accelerate the changing colors of the leaves. Already this weekend, parts of northern Wisconsin will be at or above 50% of peak color. The peak in southern Wisconsin is still likely about 4 weeks away. This usually occurs around the 3^rd week of October.

We’ve past the date of the earliest freeze on record in Milwaukee . That was on September 20, 1956 when the temperature dropped to 30 degrees. I don’t anticipate any freezing temperatures or even frost with the upcoming cooling trend, but the nights will be cool with lows in the 40s. The average date of the first frost in Milwaukee is October 20^th, still several weeks away.