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"Extreme heat wave to shatter records this weekend over southern U.S."
"The relentless heat dome will intensify in the days ahead, threatening all-time records. Mid-July is the hottest time of year for many in the Lower 48 states, but the historically intense heat dome that's sprawled over the southern and western U.S. is exceptional and pushing temperatures into uncharted territory. Triple-digit temperatures are expected to impact at least 10 states into the weekend, with cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Fresno and Salt Lake City flirting with all-time records. On Friday, nearly 115 million Americans are under heat alerts from South Florida to the interior of Washington state. This number could grow over the weekend when excessively hot weather will peak and cover the most territory. The unforgiving heat wave has already set records for longevity from Florida to Arizona and shows little sign of easing. El Paso has logged a record 27 days in a row at or above 100 degrees. Phoenix is destined for a 15th consecutive day at or above 110, closing in on the record of 18 days. And Miami has tallied a record 33 days in a row with heat indexes — a measure of how hot it feels factoring in humidity — of at least 100."
See more from the Washington Post HERE:
Twin Cities Precipitation Update
The weather outlook for the Twin Cities this weekend looks mostly with temperatures at or below the average mark for mid July. Hazy skies will envelope the region Saturday, with wildfire smoke drifting south of the region on Sunday.
Air Quality Alert Saturday
"Air quality alert issued due to wildfire smoke for Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15, for all of Minnesota. Fine particle levels are expected to reach the orange air quality index (AQI) category, a level considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, all of Minnesota. In the orange area, sensitive groups should limit prolonged or heavy exertion and time spent outdoors. Smoke from wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia will move south across Minnesota following a cold front on Friday. The sinking air associated with the cold front will push smoke elevated in the atmosphere down to the surface. This will result in poor air quality. Air quality will gradually improve on Saturday with gradual clearing across Minnesota from north to south. This alert may need to be locally extended depending on how fast the smoke dissipates."
Smoky Saturday
Here's a look at the smoky situation this weekend. A fairly enhanced plume of smoke will drift overhead through the day Saturday with lower visibilities and somewhat poor air quality.
Simulated Radar
The simulated radar from AM Saturday to PM Sunday shows fairly quiet weather across the southern half of Minnesota, but an area of low pressure swirling just north of the Canadian border will bring more widespread t-showers in to the northern half of the state on Sunday.
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 week, there could be a few tenths of an inch here and there. The heaviest rains will be found farther north, where up to 0.50" maybe possible closer to the international 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 8.5% last week to nearly 11% this week, which encompasses parts of the east Metro. Moderate drought increased from 57% last week to 64% 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 -7.00" below average (in red) since mid May. Spots in Southwest Minnesota still have a surplus of almost 1" in spots.
Twin Cities Weather Outlook For Saturday
The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Saturday, July 14th will be quiet and hazy with highs approaching the mid 80s, which is pretty close to average for this time of the year. Skies will be hazy thanks to Canadian wildfire smoke drifting overhead.
Meteograms For Minneapolis
The hourly temps through the day Saturday shows temps starting in the mid 60s in the morning and topping out in the low/mid 80s in the afternoon. Skies will be a hazy throughout much of the day with breezy northwesterly winds gusting up to near 25mph in the afternoon.
Weather Outlook For Saturday
Temps across the region on Saturday will warm into the 70s and near 80F across the state, which will be at or below average for this time of the year, especially across the northern half of the state. There could be an isolated t-shower here and there across the region, but many locations will stay dry.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows highs warming into the 70s and low/mid 80s over the next few days. This will be at or slightly below average for this time of the year. The coolest days will be Sunday and Monday when temps dip into the 70s.
Stickier Dewpoints Linger Early This Week
Dewpoints will be a bit lower as we head through the next few days. Monday could see readings down into the 40s, which will feel very comfortable for mid summer.
Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities will be fairly quiet through early next week with temps running a little cooler than average as well. Temps warm a bit with increasing thunderstorms chances as we approach the middle part of next week.
Extended Temperature Outlook
The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis will be a little cooler as we slide through the next few days. Readings get a little warm as we approach the 2nd half of next week and beyond. The end of July could be a little hotter with more 90s in the forecast.
Weather Outlook
Weather conditions across parts of the Central US will be unsettled at times with chances of showers and thunderstorms drifting through. There could be a few isolated severe storms with locally heavy rainfall, but the most unsettled weather appears to be developing along and east of the Mississippi River Valley. The Western US will remain mostly hot and dry as the heat dome continues.
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 Southern & Western US.
8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook
The extended precipitation outlook keeps things a little drier across the northern tier of the nation from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, more unsettled weather will be possible across parts of the Southern US.
More Smoke Than Heat Into Next Week
By Paul Douglas
I'm sure glad I quit smoking. I wish Canada would, too. Record heat coupled with lightning strikes continue to ignite wildfires from Quebec to British Columbia, and Minnesota is downwind of these smoky plumes of dirty air much of the time.
I'm losing track, but I think today is the 25th Air Quality Alert of 2023. The old record was 21 days in 2021. We will blow that away this year.
Dangerous heat will grip the southern half of the USA next week. With any luck the grid will hold and the power will stay on. Minnesota will avoid 115F heat indices but deal with episodes of smoke and drought into autumn. 64% of Minnesota is in moderate drought; 11% of counties in severe drought, including the metro.
A cool flow around a Manitoba storm keeps us relatively comfortable into next week with 70s and 80s. Sunday showers are most likely north/east of MSP, with midweek T-storms possible, but no soakings. We are getting a taste of the heat, but nothing like what residents from Phoenix to Miami will endure.
Extended Forecast
SATURDAY: Warm, smoky sunshine. Winds: NW 10-15. High: 83.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Hazy, then clearing. Winds: WNW 5-10. Low: 62.
SUNDAY: Sunny start, few PM showers. Winds: NW 15-25. Wake-up: 62. High: 79.
MONDAY: Sunny peeks, quite comfortable. Winds: NW 10-20. Wake-up: 60. High: 76.
TUESDAY: Sunny and warmer. Winds: SE 7-12. Wake-up: 63. High 82.
WEDNESDAY: Opportunity for showers, T-storms. Winds: SW 5-10. Wake-up: 64. High: 80.
THURSDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, breezy. Winds: N 10-20. Wake-up. 63. High 79.
FRIDAY: Blue sky, no obnoxious heat. Winds: N 7-12. Wake-up: 60. High 82.
This Day in Weather History
July 15th
1980: Straight-line winds of nearly 100 mph cause enormous damage, mainly in Dakota County. 43 million dollars in damage is reported and 100 thousand people lose power.
Average High/Low for Minneapolis
July 15th
Average High: 84F (Record: 102F set in 1988)
Average Low: 66F (Record: 49F set in 1912)
Record Rainfall: 1.87" set in 19107
Record Snowfall: NONE
Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
July 15th
Sunrise: 5:41m
Sunset: 8:56pm
Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 15 minutes
Daylight LOST since yesterday: 1 Minute & 36 Seconds
Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 21 minutes
Moon Phase for July 15th at Midnight
1.5 Days Before New Moon
National High Temps on Saturday
Temperatures on Saturday will be extremely hot across the Southern and Western US, where a number of record highs will be possible. Some locations in the Southwestern US could be reaching all-time record highs including Death Valley, CA. The forecast on Saturday for Death Valley is 129F. The all-time record high is 134F.
National Weather Saturday
The weather outlook on Saturday will feature isolated thunderstorms across parts of the Central US with more widespread storms possible along and east of the Mississippi River Valley.
National Weather Outlook
The weather outlook through Sunday shows more widespread thunderstorms activity moving from the Central US on Saturday to the Eastern US on Sunday. Some of the storms 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 and Eastern US. Some of the heaviest rains could once again fall across parts of the Northeastern US, where recent flooding occurred. Meanwhile, the Western US will remain hot and mostly dry with the exception of the Desert Southwestern, where monsoon storms will be possible.
Climate Stories
"Tornadoes, Floods And Scorching Heat — Here's All The Extreme Weather That Occurred Just In The Past Week"
"Dramatic weather events have hit various parts of the world this week, ranging from extreme flooding in India and Vermont to record-breaking temperatures in the southwest to record-breaking water temperatures in Florida, as climate change continues to show how it will challenge norms on Earth; here's a round-up of what's happened. Flood waters from torrential rains pushing the Yamuna river to record-breaking levels in Delhi—India's capital city—have closed schools and roads, taken over homes, closed three water treatment plants, and led to evacuation orders; this year's monsoon season in India has killed at least 91 people, the New York Times reported. Vermont was under a state of emergency earlier this week as rainfall was expected to exceed what was seen during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and more than 100 people were rescued by Tuesday morning, at which point Gov. Phil Scott said the extent of the storm's damage was unclear, but roads had been washed out and thousands of people had lost homes and businesses."
"California and Arizona brace for 'historic' heat wave with possible temperatures over 120°F"
"The formation of yet another "heat dome" over the southwestern United States is expected to cause temperatures in parts of California and Arizona to rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming days. One of the hottest places on the planet, California's Death Valley, is expected to see temperatures as high as 125°F to 130°F this weekend. Portions of the Central Valley further north are also expected to see temperatures as high as 117°F. The National Weather Service also issued an excessive heat warning for Phoenix through Sunday, with temperatures forecast to reach 118°F on Saturday, still a few degrees below the all-time record of 122°F. "Widespread areas of Major Heat Risk will increase to Extreme levels this weekend," the NWS forecast office in Phoenix said in a statement. Temperatures in the city have already topped 110°F for the last 12 consecutive days, nearing its all-time record of 18 consecutive days over 110°F, which was set in 1974. In the early morning hours Wednesday, Phoenix did break a notable record, when the all-time low temperature registered on July 12 only fell to 94°F. Temperature records are also expected to fall in Reno, Nev., and Las Vegas is forecast to reach a blistering 117°F this weekend, which would tie the city's all-time record."
See more from Yahoo News HERE:
"It's even hot in Antarctica, where it's winter"
"Antarctica isn't immune to the recent heat baking much of the planet. It could affect the rest of the world. Temperature records are falling around the world as a strong El Niño brews in the Pacific Ocean and summer rises in the Northern Hemisphere. The planet recently experienced the hottest day and hottest June ever recorded. But some of the most alarming heat right now is occurring far away from most of humanity in Antarctica, where it's currently winter. The World Meteorological Organization reported last week that sea ice is at record low levels around Antarctica, 17 percent below the average for this time of year. Sea ice expands and shrinks with the seasons and the ice around Antarctica is still growing, but at the slowest pace seen since satellite observation began in the 1970s. "It's not something that we should be comfortable with," Marilyn Raphael, a professor of geography at the University of California Los Angeles who studies Antarctic sea ice, told Vox. "It shouldn't be as warm as it is. If that warming continues, it will make things go akilter."