Updraft: July 20, 2009 Archive

Summer 2009: Record chill

Posted at 8:36 AM on July 20, 2009 by Paul Huttner (3 Comments)

Blue sky covers Lake Superior at Canal Park in Duluth Sunday. (MPR photo by Ken Paulman)

It almost hurts to say it, but summer is half over.

The weather numbers for the first half of "meteorological summer" are in. This has been an unusual summer so far in many ways. Meteorological summer is defined as June 1st through August 31st. Here are the numbers for the first half through July 17th.

Temperature:

Twin Cities: 68.6 degrees (-1.5 degrees)
St. Cloud: 64.4 degrees (-2.6 degrees)
Eau Claire 65.0 degrees (-4.1 degrees)

There have been some remarkable records within those overall numbers around the region.

-International Falls has been cooler than average every day this month. The average temperature so far in July is 57 degrees, which will set the record for the coldest July ever (59.4 degrees in1992) if it holds the rest of the month. The Nation's Icebox has set 5 new daily record low temperatures set this month, including a low of 37 degrees Sunday.

-St. Cloud set a new record low of 43 degrees Sunday.

-Saturday set several new record cold maximum temperatures around the region, including a high of just 65 degrees in the Twin Cities.

It's not surprising to know it's been a cool summer so far. That's good news for your air conditioning energy bill, but not so good if you like a balmy dip in your favorite lake. I measured a water temperature of 70 degrees at the surface in Lake Minnetonka Sunday. That's about 10 degrees cooler than average for this time of year.

Rainfall:

Drought conditions continue in most of Minnesota and much of Wisconsin. The Twin Cities is running 3.6" below average rainfall since June 1st.

It is interesting to note that southwest Minnesota is running 1 to 2 inches above average in the same period. There is still very wet soil in parts of northwest Minnesota.

Thunderstorms and severe weather:

Lightning has been observed on only 11 days in the Twin Cities this summer. That's below the average of 18 days, and far behind the 23 days last year. There has also been a lack of severe weather. Severe weather warnings still have not been issues for some Twin Cities counties. This is the latest on record.

A persistent northwest flow has caused our cool dry summer so far. This has allowed a series of cool Canadian air masses to move south into Minnesota. It is interesting to note that it has been warmer this month in Fairbanks, Alaska than many places in Minnesota. Nature has a way of balancing things out, and when it's cool in Minnesota it's usually warm in Alaska.

We may warm up a bit later this week before another cool shot this weekend. There are signs that some heat may return as we approach August 1st. It will be interesting to see if nature brings heat in August to balance things out a bit.

PH

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Rain chances increasing tonight

Posted at 2:55 PM on July 20, 2009 by Paul Huttner (0 Comments)

NOAA rainfall forecast hints at meaningful rain for parts of Minnesota.

We've seen this movie before. Let's hope this time the ending turns out differently.

Another summer cool front is bringing a chance of rain to much of drought stricken Minnesota and the Twin Cities. There are hopeful signs the rainfall will be heavy enough to be meaningful. There are also signs the rain could split into two areas and avoid the Twin Cities and much of east central Minnesota.

A band of showers and thunderstorms is moving through western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas today. As the rain moves east it should spread into eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin overnight.

The forecast models are cranking out around .75" for the metro in the next 24 hours. That would be a nice soaker if we can get it. The line to the west looks pretty solid, but there are indications that a northern and southern flank could develop, and skirt the metro again. Let's hope not, much of central Minnesota desperately needs to get in on the rain this time.

There is a slight risk of severe weather with the storms today. Keep an eye out for potential warnings later today and tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for some good downpours too.

PH

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