Eye catching Duluth Waterspout; Fab Friday; Below average temps next 2 weeks

Waterspout! Off Duluth's Park Point Thursday

Ideal for human comfort- weather conditions Friday & Saturday

Cooler than average overall next 2 weeks according to NOAA CPC update

Quick look forecast fo the Twin Cities

Source: Twin Cities NWS

Quick look forecast for Ely & the BWCA:

Source: Duluth NWS

Waterspout off Duluth Thursday:

File this one under things you don't see everyday in Minnesota.

Photo: Lucie Amundsen of Duluth

Thanks to Lucie Amundsen of Duluth who was quick with the camera Thursday and captured this faint, but eye-catching waterspout over Lake Superior offshore from Duluth.

Here's the Local Storm Report (LSR) from the Duluth NWS.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN

1122 AM CDT THU AUG 09 2012

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...

..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....

..REMARKS..

1105 AM WATER SPOUT 5 ESE DULUTH 46.76N 92.02W

08/09/2012 LSZ145 MN FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

WATER SPOUT WAS SPOTTED 2 MILES OFF OF PARK POINT AND WAS

MOVING SSW TOWARDS PARK POINT. THE WATER SPOUT DISSIPATED

BY APPROX. 1110 AM BEFORE REACHING LAND.

The waterspout extends from the base of a thundershower over the lake near Duluth. The weather pattern Thursday favored so called "cold air funnels" and this may have been a cold air funnel that "touched down" on the lake. The center or "vorticity max" of a small low pressure system swirled just off Duluth Thursday.

Thursday's late PM Weather Tap 1km visible satellite loop shows the "vort max" that spawned the waterspout spinning south over Wisconsin.

[image]

This was not your classic "tornadic supercell" type storm. It's interesting to see the condensation funnel kick up "sea spray" as it rakes the waters of Lake Superior. The funnel as moving SSW toward Park Point and could have caused minor damage had it made shore, but it dissipated before reaching land.

Who knew Duluth was the new "Miami of the North?"

Picture perfect Friday & Saturday?

If there is such a thing as a classic Minnesota weather day, Friday may be the day you see on postcards from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Canadian high pressure will nose into Minnesota from the north. A pristine clear blue morning sky may feature a few puffy fir weather cumulus clouds by afternoon drifting overhead. Light winds, temps in the 70s, and dew points n the 50s will make for "ideal human comfort" in Minnesota Friday.

Friday & Saturday features what many Minnesotans consider to be "perfect weather."

Source: Twin Cities NWS

Still there are many places that could use some rain. We may see some T-showers Saturday night and Sunday that favor southwest and southern Minnesota...possibly grazing the metro.

NOAA CPC: Cooler than average next 14 days

On Monday I hinted at the trend for cooler than average temps the next 2 weeks. Today, NOAA's CPC has updated outlooks that pint the best odds for cooler than average temps through day 14 over the Upper Midwest.

Other than a brief warm up into the mid-80s next Tuesday & Wednesday, it looks like we've finally broken the back of intense summer heat. We'll probably squeak out another 90 r two during the State Fair, but for now no string of sweaty, steamy 90s lurk anywhere on the weather maps for Minnesota.

Thankfully the vicious heat wave of 2012 is gone for much of the Midwest.

Source: NOAA/CPC

Source: NOAA/CPC

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