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Sunsets Before 9:00pm
From June 12th to July 10th, the Twin Cities enjoyed sunsets that were at or just after the 9:00pm hour. On Tuesday, July 11th, sunsets in the Twin Cities will be before 9:00pm once again as the summer slide continues. We've already lost 15 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice and will lose another nearly 40 minutes by the end of July. Also note the record high for July 11th is 106F set in 1936, which is the 2nd hottest temperature that the we've ever had in the Twin Cities. Unbelievably, we hit 106F 3 times that July and even hit 108F on July 14th, 1936.
Simulated Radar
The simulated radar from AM Tuesday to Midday Wednesday keeps a few lingering showers and isolated thunderstorms across parts of the state through midweek. It doesn't appear that any of the rain will be substantial, but some locations could see a little rain here and there.
Extended Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook doesn't appear to show a ton of widespread rainfall. Through next weekend, there could be some 0.25" to 0.50" tallies mainly across the southern part of the state and closer to the MN/IA border.
Drought Update
It has been an extremely dry stretch of weather across much of the station over the last several weeks. Only a few locations have seen decent pockets of rain, but the drought is expanding. Severe drought conditions have expanded from nearly 5% last week to nearly 8.5% this week, which encompasses parts of the east Metro. Moderate drought increased from 44% last week to 56% this week. We need rain!
60 Day Precipitation Anomaly
The map below shows the 60 day precipitation anomaly, which indicates that some locations are nearly -3.00" to nearly -6.00" below average (in red) since early May. Spots in Southwest Minnesota still have a surplus of almost 1" in spots.
Twin Cities Weather Outlook For Tuesday
The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Tuesday, July 11th will be much cooler than it was on Monday with highs dropping to around 80F, which will be nearly 10F to 15F cooler. Skies will be mostly sunny with a few more clouds later in the day.
Meteograms For Minneapolis
The hourly temps through the day Monday shows temps starting in the upper 50s in the morning and topping out in the upper 70s in the afternoon. Skies will be mostly sunny through much of the day with an increase in cloud cover later in the day. Winds will generally be out of the northern around 10mph to 15mph.
Weather Outlook For Tuesday
Temps across the region on Tuesday will warm into the 70s across the state, which will be nearly -5F to -10F below average for this time of the year. Skies will be sunny in the morning with increasing clouds throughout the day.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
Temperatures for the Twin Cities through midweek will be a little cooler than average now with highs dipping into the upper 70s. We'll see a gradual warming trend to near average readings through the end of the week and weekend ahead.
Stickier Dewpoints Linger Early This Week
Dewpoints will be fairly comfortable through midweek with readings in the 50s. By the end of the week and weekend ahead, dewpoints will gradually increase close to 60F, but it won't be too uncomfortable.
Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities will be quite a bit cooler than it was on Monday. Highs will only warm into the upper 70s through midweek, which will be nearly 10F to 15F cooler than it was on Monday. It'll get a little warmer as we approach the weekend with a slightly higher chance of spotty thunderstorms.
Extended Temperature Outlook
The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis will be cooler through midweek with a gradual warming trend over the next several days. Highs in the 90s could return by the 2nd to last full week of July.
Weather Outlook
Weather conditions across parts of the Central US will be unsettled with daily thunderstorms chances. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, much of the Western US will remain hot and dry. There will also be widely scattered thunderstorms across the Southeastern US with locally heavy rainfall.
8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows warmer-than-average temperatures across much of the nation and especially across the Southern US
8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across parts of the eastern US. Meanwhile, drier weather will continue across parts of the Western US.
Increasing rain chances. Nothing substantial
By Todd Nelson, filling in for Douglas
Minnesota native, Bob Dylan, reminds us that "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" and you certainly don't need me to tell you that it has been dry out there.
Despite a few heavy pockets of rain here and there over the last few weeks, much of the state is nearly 3 to 6 inches below normal precipitation over the last 60 days. Only 1.50 inches of rain was registered at the MSP Airport from June 1st to July 9th, which is the 6th driest such period on record. Meanwhile, parts of Hudson Valley in New York saw nearly 8 inches of rain on Sunday, 7 of which came in just a few hours. Widespread flash flooding caused complete chaos in the region, killing at least 1 woman who tried to escape the rising flood waters in what is being called a 1 in 1000 year flood.
An area of low pressure swirling just north of the Canadian border will keep skies overhead a little unsettled over the next several days. Isolated t-shower chances linger into the weekend, but nothing substantial. We're all just "Blowin' in the wind."
Extended Forecast
TUESDAY: Cooler. Increasing clouds. Winds: NE 5-10. High 80.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy, chance of showers. Winds: NNE 5-10. Low: 60.
WEDNESDAY: Isolated t-showers possible. Mainly south. Winds: ESE 5-10. High: 78.
THURSDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. Stray t-showers. Winds: WNW 5-10. Wake-up: 62. High 83.
FRIDAY: Isolated PM rain and rumbles. Winds: WNW 7-12. Wake-up: 64. High 84.
SATURDAY: Breezy. Passing showers. Winds: WNW 10-15. Wake-up. 63. High: 82.
SUNDAY: Pop up afternoon shower or storm. Winds: WNW 10-15. Wake-up: 62. High: 80.
MONDAY: Gradual clearing. Winds: WNW 5-10. Wake-up: 61. High: 80.
This Day in Weather History
July 11th
1903: The temperature plummets down to 26 at Leech Lake Dam.
Average High/Low for Minneapolis
July 11th
Average High: 84F (Record: 106F set in 1936)
Average Low: 66F (Record: 49F set in 1945)
Record Rainfall: 3.75" set in 1909
Record Snowfall: NONE
Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
July 11th
Sunrise: 5:37m
Sunset: 8:59pm
Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 21 minutes
Daylight LOST since yesterday: 1 Minute & 22 Seconds
Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 15 minutes
Moon Phase for July 11th at Midnight
2.2 Days After Last Quarter Moon
National High Temps on Tuesday
Temperatures on Tuesday across the Southwest will still be very hot, where excessive heat concerns are still in place. Temperatures will warm to well above average levels and into the 100s. Meanwhile, readings from the Midwest will be a little cooler than average.
National Weather Tuesday
The weather outlook on Tuesday will feature isolated thunderstorms across parts of the Central US, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rain.
National Weather Outlook
The weather outlook through Wednesday shows isolated thunderstorm activity across parts of the Central US, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall.
Extended Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier precipitation across parts of the Central US, from the Central Plains to the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and into the Northern New England States. Meanwhile, the Western US will be hot and dry into next week.
Climate Stories
"Research shows shrinking Arctic glaciers are unearthing a new source of methane"
"As the Arctic warms, shrinking glaciers are exposing bubbling groundwater springs which could provide an underestimated source of the potent greenhouse gas methane, finds new research published in Nature Geoscience. The study, led by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University Center in Svalbard, Norway, identified large stocks of methane gas leaking from groundwater springs unveiled by melting glaciers. The research suggests that these methane emissions will likely increase as Arctic glaciers retreat and more springs are exposed. This, and other methane emissions from melting ice and frozen ground in the Arctic, could exacerbate global warming. "These springs are a considerable, and potentially growing, source of methane emissions—one that has been missing from our estimations of the global methane budget until now," said Gabrielle Kleber, lead author of the research who is from Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences."
"Breeding corn to boost yields has made it more vulnerable to heat"
"As temperatures rise due to climate change, the huge amounts of corn grown in the US Midwest could be under threat, and it seems breeding for high-yielding varieties has made the crop genetically more vulnerable. A century of breeding corn to boost yields in the US Midwest may have also made the crop more vulnerable to the hotter temperatures expected with climate change. The amount of corn grown in the US more than quintupled during the 20th century due to a combination of breeding, agricultural intensification and favorable temperatures. But hotter and drier weather projected to arrive due to climate change threatens to slow or even reverse those gains. "It's fairly severe," says Patrick Schnable at Iowa State University. "If you look at middle-of-the-road projections, corn yield goes down." The worst scenarios project as much as a 50 percent decrease in yield by 2100."
See more from New Scientist HERE:
"Solar panels could be about to get much better at capturing sunlight"
"A new kind of solar cell has broken a theoretical limit on the efficiency of silicon-based cells, which could enable us to harvest more energy from sunlight. Almost all commercial solar cells are made from silicon. These can only convert a narrow frequency band of sunlight to electricity. Light that is too far outside this range either passes straight through or is lost as heat, which gives silicon cells a theoretical efficiency limit of around 29.4 per cent. This limit could, in theory, be higher if another material that generates electricity from light in a different frequency range is stacked on top of the silicon layer. Perovskite, a titanium and calcium crystal, is well suited to this because it is better at absorbing light closer to the infrared spectrum, but making it efficient has proven difficult. This is because of wayward electrons that are reabsorbed into the crystal before they can be turned into current. Now, two research groups have found ways to pair perovskite with silicon and achieve a higher efficiency."
See more from From New Scientist HERE:
