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More Needed Rainfall Fell Sunday
While southern Minnesota saw rainfall Sunday morning, another batch of rain moved across the state late in the day into the overnight hours, bringing ~0.25"-0.75" of rain across parts of the southern half of the state (and lower totals northward).
Officially 0.77" of rain fell at MSP, making Sunday the fifth wettest day of this year so far. Meanwhile, Sioux Falls saw 5.44" of rain on Sunday, marking their wettest day ever recorded (the previous was 4.59" back on August 1, 1975).
The weekend rainfall was the second wettest two-day period so far this year - the wettest was May 11-12 when 1.98" fell. This was certainly much-needed rainfall across the region, and hopefully it will have helped to make at least a little dent in the drought situation. While my yard is happy with the rainfall, I'm honestly not looking forward to having to mow it soon!
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Sunny, Warmer Tuesday
No rain in the forecast Tuesday - just another mainly sunny day with warmer temperatures making a return. Morning lows will be around 60F with highs climbing into the mid-80s.
I don't think I can rule out some fog in some spots to begin your Tuesday, but sunny skies will dominate the day statewide. The best chance of a passing cloud might be across northern parts of Minnesota. Highs will mostly be in the 80s across Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with some 70s possible along northern parts of the North Shore (up toward Grand Marais) and in the Driftless Region of southeastern Minnesota.
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Warm Midweek, Slightly Cooler To End The Week
Tuesday and Wednesday will be the warmest days of the work week with highs climbing into the mid-80s. A dry cold front moves through midweek with Canadian High Pressure moving in behind it, bringing highs around 80F for both Thursday and Friday (slightly below average). While most of the week will be dry, we will watch some rain chances start working in toward Friday and Saturday. Odds are on the lower end (20-30%) right now, and the European model is more bullish than the GFS on rain chances Friday into Friday Night.
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Million Dollar Rain Came At The Right Time
By Paul Douglas
Celebrate the small wins, right? Like most Minnesotans I enjoyed our weekend soaking and the 1-3" of much-needed rain that fell on an area struggling with moderate to severe drought.
Summer rainfall patterns are notoriously fickle, the result of pop-up thunderstorms that can drench one town, while leaving another town 10 miles down the road dry and dusty. "Paul, the storms always SPLIT before reaching the metro!" People get indignant when it doesn't rain at their house, especially during drought. Fall and spring rains tend to be more "stratiform", with rainfall more evenly distributed. But during the summer we're always playing the Rainfall Lotto, with winners and losers.
A beautiful week is shaping up with a string of 80s and no weather-drama to speak of. The next welcome wave of T-storms may arrive Friday, again next Monday, with enough warm sunshine for a fine weekend of outdoor activities. No suffocating heat in sight.
My rain gauge picked up nearly 2" over the weekend. I swear I can hear my lawn burping.
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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast
TUESDAY: Sunny and warm. Wake up 60. High 85. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 8-13 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Plenty of sunshine. Wake up 67. High 87. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind W 5-10 mph.
THURSDAY: Some sun, thunder southwest MN. Wake up 65. High 83. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.
FRIDAY: A few T-storms in the area. Wake up 66. High 80. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind S 10-15 mph.
SATURDAY: Warm sunshine. Wake up 67. High 85. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.
SUNDAY: Generally sunny and warm. Wake up 68. High 84. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind E 5-10 mph.
MONDAY: Ripe for showers and T-storms. Wake up 69. High 79. Chance of precipitation 60%. Wind SE 8-13 mph.
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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
August 9th
*Length Of Day: 14 hours, 20 minutes, and 30 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 38 seconds
*When Do We Drop Below 14 Hours Of Daylight?: August 17 (13 hours, 58 minutes, 36 seconds)
*When Does The Sun Start Rising At/After 7 AM?: September 22nd (7:00 AM)
*When Does The Sun Start Setting At/Before 8 PM?: August 26th (8:00 PM)
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This Day in Weather History
August 9th
1948: 7.72 inches of rain falls at Mankato.
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National Weather Forecast
A frontal boundary from the Northeast to the Southern Plains will bring the threat of showers and thunderstorms along it as we head through Tuesday. More scattered storms will be possible in the western U.S. as well as the Southeast.
Some areas of heavier rain will be possible through the middle of the week from the Deep South into the Northeast and in parts of the Southwest due to the monsoonal storms. In some areas, particularly in New England, some rainfall totals could generally approach three inches. If you end up under heavy or training storms rainfall amounts could be heavier.
Meanwhile, we haven't talked a lot about the Atlantic recently as it has been fairly quiet over the past month or so. That could change later this week, however, as a tropical wave in the eastern Atlantic has a medium chance to become a tropical depression as it moves westward.
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U.S. Senate passes historic climate bill
More from Grist: "The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on Sunday, a $433 billion climate, energy, health, and tax bill that will set the United States on course to reduce its cumulative emissions roughly 40 percent, compared to 2005 levels, by 2030. Fifty Democratic senators voted for the bill, including centrists Joe Manchin, from West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, from Arizona. Republican senators unilaterally opposed the legislation. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. In a statement, President Joe Biden said that the bill "makes the largest investment ever in combating the existential crisis of climate change.""
A historic climate bill passed. Now comes the hard part.
More form E&E News: "As difficult as passing the "Inflation Reduction Act" was, the road ahead stands to be more challenging. New transmission lines will need to be strung to connect wind and solar projects in disparate parts of the country. Batteries need to be installed to backup renewable projects. Emerging technologies like clean hydrogen and advanced nuclear, along with seldom-used ones like carbon capture and sequestration, have to be installed to ensure the grid can run round-the-clock without pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. And that's just in the power sector. Cleaning up transportation and industry will likely be even more challenging, due to relatively limited technological options and the long lifetimes associated with cars and large industrial equipment."
'Very critical situation': Almost half of EU countries suffering from drought
More from Sky News: "Almost half of European Union land is currently under a drought warning or more severe "alert" level, hampering agriculture, energy production and water supply, the European Commission has confirmed. From France in the west and Romania in the east, to western Germany and southern Greece, a "wide and persistent" lack of rain, combined with heatwaves, makes for an alarmingly long list of countries where drought is getting worse. New data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO) shows some 45% of the bloc's territory under "warning" conditions, the second of three drought categories, during the 10 days leading to 20 July."
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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).
- D.J. Kayser
