Updraft: August 25, 2009 Archive

A look at the Tropics

Posted at 7:54 AM on August 25, 2009 by Craig Edwards

We are entering peak hurricane season and the Atlantic waters are beginning to show some potential. Storm number one may develop into tropical storm as we move through the week. The Hurricane center is forecasting favorable conditions for strengthening. I believe we are up to Danny with regard to naming the storms in the Atlantic.

In the Pacific there are two named storms. Tropical Storm Ignacio has winds of 40 mph and is approximately 650 miles west southwest of the southwest tip of Baja, CA.

Further to the west, about 800 miles south of Honolulu, HI we find Tropical Storm Hilda with winds to 60 mph. As the center of the storm tracks west it is likely to strengthen to hurricane force on Thursday.

Welcome moisture fell overnight in east central Minnesota and west central Wisconsin. Doppler radar estimated as much as two inches of rain fell from just east of Hudson to about Baldwin, WI. Here in the metro, anywhere from a third to two thirds of an inch of rain.

This latest front is ushering in lower dew points, but not chilly air. As we look to the weekend we are watching a front that has much cooler air headed our way. Temperatures on Satuday and Sunday may be more like readings we should see in late September.
CE

From not much, to something worth writing about

Posted at 2:18 PM on August 25, 2009 by Craig Edwards

When I retired last evening, there wasn't too much to write home about on the radar. Just a few spotty showers south of Alexandria and west of Willmar.

Overnight, nature got a little agitated from a mid level jet swirl and a southeast moving cold front. These features ignited some stronger storms that extended from Springfield, MN into Baldwin and Rice Lake, WI. Some of the rainfall totals ending at 7am, included one inch at both Stillwater and Springfield and just shy of two inches at Baldwin. Chanhassen recorded about two thirds of an inch.

As you can tell from the Doppler imagery, there was a nice swath of rain from southwest to northeast. The image includes moisture that fell after 7am. The heavier rainfall totals once again bypassed Eau Claire to the north. The yellow shading is two or more inches.
CE

My kind of cold front

Posted at 5:08 PM on August 25, 2009 by Craig Edwards

Visible satellite image from mid afternoon shows the nice clearly that took place over central Minnesota from the early morning overcast.

My wife wryly commented this morning, as the grey overcast persisted and the last remaining sprinkles were ending, it's going to have to go some to reach 80 today. It was 67 at 11am with cloudy skies. Around 3pm today the mercury topped out at 80 degrees in the Twin Cities.

Ahead of the cold front last night the dew points climbed from the upper 50s to the upper 60s. This low level moisture met up with winds shifting from south to north in the early morning hours. Showers and thundershowers danced through eastern Minnesota until about mid morning.

At lunch time skies began to brighten and sunshine dominated the afternoon. The dew points fell back in the upper 50s, as a northwest wind added to the freshness of what seemed like an entirely new day.

I like them cold fronts that give us some overnight rain while only lowering the temperatures a couple of degrees.

The weekend cold front appears to have a little more giddy-up.
CE