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Updraft: May 26, 2009 Archive

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Metro drought deepening

Posted at 8:21 AM on May 26, 2009 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)

Drought conditions are rapidly deepening in much of southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities. The lack of significant rainfall is showing up in lower pond and lake levels, and in brown lawns which are expanding around the metro.

Rainfall is two inches below average for May at Twin Cities International Airport. If you go back a year, the numbers are even more staggering. 11 of the past 13 months have produced below average precipitation. Precipitation is a whopping 10.1 inches below average since last May. That's four months worth.

With high sun and very dry air this time of year we evaporate about 1" from the soil every four days. That means nearly 2" of soil moisture is sucked from the ground every week we do not receive rain.

The water level in Lake Minnetonka is down over a foot from last July. The dam at Gray's Bay, which releases water into Minnehaha Creek, is barely a trickle at 12 CFS. The water level at White Bear Lake in the northern metro is down nearly 2 feet from last year at this time.

You may notice the soil under foot is powder dry in some areas. Here at the Huttner Weather Lab, areas that have not been watered are dusty, and new weeds that seem to thrive in dry weather are popping up.

June is statistically our wettest month of the year with over 4 inches of rainfall on average. We could really use at least an average month. So far the weather maps for the next two weeks hint at below average rainfall. Let's hope they are wrong this time, or the drought may become a much bigger news story in the coming weeks.

PH

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VORTEX2: Hello South Dakota

Posted at 5:26 PM on May 26, 2009 by Paul Huttner

Vortex dow.jpg
VORTEX2 researchers use Doppler on wheels (DOW) like this one to track tornadoes this summer.

VORTEX2 moved north last week into Nebraska and South Dakota in search of severe storms. Normally active tornado alley has been unusually quiet this month. The Nebraska and South Dakota storms were the only big weather game in the Midwest.

Imagine the surprise in little Hemingford, Nebraska last week when an armada of Doppler radars on wheels rolled into town. In classic Midwestern style, Hemingford rolled out the welcome mat. The VORTEX2 researchers even gave a tour to local elementary students. Talk about a nice impromptu field trip!

The team intercepted a rotating supercell near Alliance, Nebraska. The storm did not produce a tornado, but it was a great opportunity to give the weather fleet a test run. One of the lead researchers, Josh Wurman blogs about the pursuit that day.

The big picture is a little like being all dressed up with no place to go. There has been a remarkable lack of severe weather in the plains since the VORTEX2 project kicked off this month. It figures. What do you get when you gather 100 top severe weather scientists and 40 highly instrumented vehicles and send them into the plains after tornadoes? A drought, of course.

I have had the pleasure to meet some of the lead researchers in this group. The senior staff includes Howie Bluestein, Don Burgess, Josh Wurman and a host of other "monsters" in severe storms research. Together they are the best on the planet.

There is some indication they may have increased severe storm activity this weekend in the central plains. If it happens, they will be there to get what could be the best data ever recorded from tornadic supercell thunderstorms.

PH

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