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Making the most of a summer-like fall weather
It was the warmest and driest September ever recorded in Minnesota, and the mild fall weather has created plenty of ways to spend some free time outside.
(FOX 9) - Fall officially arrived more than a week ago, but Mother Nature doesn't seem to want to let summer go.
Temperatures were in the mid-80s on Monday, making some fall activities feel a little different.
For Katie Mork and her daughters, it's an annual tradition to visit Ferguson's Minnesota Harvest in Jordan.
But what is non-traditional is the historic weather that has accompanied this year's apple-picking season.
"I was hoping it would be a little bit cooler today. Right now, actually the overcast has been really great," said Mork.
Chief Meteorologist Ian Leonard, says September was officially the warmest and driest on record, but Minnesota's extended summer is about to turn into a pumpkin. So far the only crisp at this orchard has been in the name of an apple, instead of the feel of the autumn air.
"I prefer fall. I like cool weather. I'm a cold-weather person" said Mork.
But Bailey Johnson and her family are already on the bandwagon for more warm weather.
"That's definitely a little strange to have it be 85 and sunny when picking apples," said Johnson.
She says Mother Nature will give Minnesota the cold shoulder soon enough, so a steamy September has been the apple of her eye.
"The crisp fall air hasn't hit us quite yet the way that we would normally expect it to. But we'll take it. It's better than the opposite, I think," said Johnson.
One of the owners of the orchard says the warm weather has caused some of the apples and pumpkins to ripen a week or two earlier than normal.
But he says that allows people to enjoy them a little bit longer.