Aurora Watch

Late night star gazers may get a rare treat tonight.

A solar flare and significant coronal mass ejection (CME) is sending a burst of solar energy toward earth. The interaction with the earth's magnetosphere may produce auroras in the coming nights at high latitudes.

It is possible that auroras may be visible as far south as Minnesota. Keep an eye on the northern sky this week.

Welcome to the jungle.

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Temperatures and humidity today will make it feel like the Amazon Jungle today in Minnesota. Temperatures will soar this afternoon to 90 degrees in much of southern Minnesota. Combine that reading with oppressive dew points in the 70s and you get heat indices (feels like) temperatures of 100.

Take it easy in the heat today; it can sneak up on you.

Steamy July:

Minnesota has been fortunate so far this summer. A nasty heat wave has been persistent in the central and southern USA with temperatures frequently topping 100.

Still, July made a mark in Minnesota. The average monthly temperature was 76.3 degrees. That's 3.1 degrees above average for the month, and a full 6.3 degrees warmer than last July!

July also marks the 5th straight month of above average temps in Minnesota.

Rainfall at Twin Cities Airport was 3.03" in July. That's an inch beow average. But just to show all weather (and especially rainfall) is local, Eau Claire got doused with 7.66" of rain last month. That marks the 4th wettest July on Record for Eau Claire.

Tropical Storm Colin:

We have the 3rd named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Colin has 40 mph winds, and is still about 900 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.

Various forecast models take Colin to a point southeast of the Carolina Coast in about 5 days. It's too early to tell if Colin will become a threat to the eastern U.S.

PH