Updraft: May 13, 2009 Archive

Thunder dud

Posted at 7:03 AM on May 13, 2009 by Craig Edwards

While thunderstorms produced some reports of hail and strong winds in portions of the central Dakotas the past twenty-four hours, they ran out of steam when the arrived in central Minnesota overnight.

Computer models had locked on to this diminishing trend. Yesterday morning I wasn't too optimistic about generous rains in the metro. As of 6am this morning, only a trace reported at the International Airport.

Winds gusted to 45 mph in southern Minnesota yesterday. Low level moisture for triggering thunderstorms was stalled over Iowa.

Vortex II project will take to the road today, heading east from the home base of Oklahoma city. The Storm Prediction center is forecasting a chance of EF2 twisters later today from Missouri to central Illinois.

Severe thunderstorm and tornado outlook

CE

Forecast: Summer in sight

Posted at 3:19 PM on May 13, 2009 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)

A newly planted rose at the Weather Lab enjoys perfect spring weather.

All things considered, it's been a great spring.

April and May so far have brought temperatures about 1 degree above average in the Twin Cities. We're a little dry around the edges with rainfall about 1.5" below average since April 1st. All in all, that's a pretty classic Minnesota spring.

Our seasonably cool pattern will continue into the weekend. Here are the highlights.

-Thursday: High pressure builds in. Bright sun, less wind with a high of 65.
-Friday: Next wave of precip brings rain. (Generally under .25") High 68.
-Saturday: Windy and cooler, but dry. High 59. Wind NW 15-25 mph+.
-Sunday: Sunny and milder. Less wind. High 65. Wind S-SW 5-15.

Next two weeks: Summer like pattern ahead.
Starting on Monday it appears our weather pattern will change for the warmer. A strong ridge of high pressure builds in the middle part of the U.S. That is the pattern we look for this time of year to signify our first big sustained warm-up.

The words "warmer and more humid" may creep back into the weather forecast in the next two weeks. Look for highs well into the 70's starting on Monday. We may reach or exceed 80 by Wednesday of next week. After a brief late week cool down, the early outlook for the Memorial Day weekend is warm and more humid. We could see 80's in the area if the pattern holds.

It appears that summer-like weather is finally on the weather maps, and will be here in the next week or two.

Storms firing south of the region in Illinois and Missouri could trigger tornadoes today. The Vortex2 project was in New Mexico yesterday and will likely head east today.You can track the progress of the Vortex2 project as they track the storms here.

PH

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