Towering pines and shimmering lakes up north do not magically insulate you from tornadic thunderstorms. The Duluth office of the National Weather Service confirms multiple tornado touchdowns Wednesday from spinning, Kansas-like "supercell" thunderstorms. Tornadoes were spotted near Wright (Carlton County), Cedar and Hammal lakes (Aitkin County), Rabbit Lake (Crow Wing County) with extensive tornado damage to homes and resorts around Clamshell Lake, west of Crosslake (Crow Wing County). Aerial imagery from planes (drones?) may confirm whether this was one continuous tornado or several tornadoes. Yes, June is peak severe weather month across Minnesota.
It's also our wettest month of the year, on average, and this year will not disappoint. Models print out 1 to 2 inches of additional rain by Sunday morning, with totals of 4 to 8 inches by next weekend. Good grief.
Enjoy steamy sunshine Sunday afternoon with highs flirting with 90 early next week. No extended heat waves just yet. Reminder: July is our hottest month of the year.
