Weather Whiplash: 2013 running -9F so far vs 2012; Top 5 MN weather events of 2013 so far; 95F next week?

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It just doesn't get any better than this.

Day 2 of what could be the "best" 2 days of summer unfolds today. Plenty of sunshine, low humidity and highs in the low-mid 80s? Can I save this day as a "weather mulligan" in January please?

Moderate heat and humidity creep back into Minnesota Friday, and some weekend thunder looks likely at times.

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And talk about "weather whiplash"...so far 2013 is a far cry from balmy 2012. We all lived through a very different year so far compared to last year...but when I actually looked at the numbers I was shocked at how much different. -9F vs. last year?? New year...radically different weather.

And what are your "top 5 weather events" so far in 2013? I' take a stab in the blog below.

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Image: Maytag

Maytag Weather Repairman

If you're old enough to remember the Maytag commercials you'll get why many meteorologisst can put their feet up for a few minutes this week. After a late winter snow blitz...a cool wet spring, a stormy June and a few choice words tossed our way from disgruntled Minnesotans in search of summer we've probably earned it.

Thursday brings another glorious Minnesota weather day. I know we've all earned this fine July weather winning streak.

Friday brings a wind shift to the south...and a return of some moderate heat and humidity levels. Not bad by Minnesota summer standards...but you'll notice the difference by this weekend.  Here's the outlook form the Twin Cities NWS.

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Heat, humidity and T-Storm chances increase this weekend. Image: Twin Cities NWS

Dew points climb from the comfy 50s into the mid-upper 60s to possible 70F this weekend. Is that a chorus of AC units I hear in the future?

The Euro is still hinting at an expanding bubble of hot steamy air nosing north into Minnesota late next week. A few days with highs near 90F hang in our future...  and highs as hot as 95 are possible by late next week. 35C = 95F.

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Image: Norwegian Met Institute

We may get close to 90F again in the metro Friday...and NOAA's GFS cranks out highs that touch 90F by next Wednesday. best rain chances? Saturday-Monday...of course.

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Image: NOAA

Overall this looks like a blissful, beach worthy stretch of summer like weather in the next week. No complaints from the Weather Lab.

1st Semester 2013 Weather Report Card: Night and day difference from 2012

Talk about weather whiplash. If you moved to Minnesota in spring of 2012 you might have thought you won the weather lottery. In 2013 you probably would have turned around and headed back home.

We've endured temperatures a shocking 9.0F colder in the metro  in the 1st half of 2013 vs. 2012. That's like moving from Kansas City to the Twin Cities. Here's a look at the remarkable numbers.

Temps vs. average at MSP Airport in degrees F

Month   2012   2013  Difference

Jan  +7.7     +1.3    -6.4F

Feb  +6.9       -1.8   -8.8F

Mar + 15.5    -5.6   -21.1F

Apr  +2.5       -6.5    -9.0F

May  +4.6F    -0.8F   -4.6F

Jun    +3.5     +0.1   - 3.4F

Overall: 2013 is running -9.0F colder than 2012 so far!

This is a great example of how each year can show dramatically different weather personalities.

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Megan Kellerman of Minneaolis uses her cellphone on Saturday, June 22, 2013 while it charges off the battery of her car, which was crushed by a fallen tree on Humbolt Avenue near 33rd Street in Minneapolis. Numerous large, old trees were uprooted in this neighborhood east of Lake Calhoun and south of Uptown after powerful overnight storms swept through the Twin Cities. (MPR Photo/Hart Van Denburg)

"Top 5" Weather Events of 0213 so far?

It's a subjective question, but here would be my top 5 weather events so far in 2013. (chronological order)

1) Streak of above zero days at MSP ends at 4 years 6 days on January 20th with a high of -2F.

You know it's Minnesota when we celebrate a high of -2F. Here are the details on the "back to weather reality" shot of arctic air that broke the longest above zero streak on record in the metro.

Streak With Highs of 0°F or Above Has Ended After 4 Years And 6 Days

Sunday, January 20, 2013 marked the 1,466th consecutive day, (4 years and 6 days), with high temperatures of 0°F or greater at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.  With a high temperature of -2°F degrees on January 21st, 2013, the streak has come to an end.  The streak shattered the previous record by 324 days.  Before January 21st, 2013, the last time the high temperature at the Minneapolis airport was below zero was on January 15, 2009 when the thermometer climbed to only -6°F.  

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Image: Twin Cities NWS

2) Late season snow blitz sets records

Winter started tame enough...but came on with a late season vengeance that left Minnesotans reeling...and remembering where we live.

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Image: Phyllis Lorenzo, 2 miles west of Hayward, WI.

The last season snowfall surge boosted season snowfall at MSP to a respectable 67.7" at MSP...and a whopping 129.4" at Duluth...the 3rd snowiest year on record. Duluth also recorded the snowiest month ever on record... in April with an incredible 50.8" dumping.

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Image: Duluth NWS

To top off the season, a record and rare heavy May snowfall brushed the metro...and dumped heavy totals to the east. The freak spring snowstorm dumped 18" in Blooming Prairie set the all time state record for 24-hour snowfall in May...a whopping 15.2" at Dodge Center.

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Image: Twin Cities NWS

Talk about adding insult to injury after a brutal spring. And that was um...barely over 2 months ago! It's a good thing Minnesotans have a short weather memory.

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Image: MN State Climatology Office

3) Cool Wet Spring of 2013

A cool...and the 4th wettest spring on record was nothing short of a shock after the balmy spring of 2012...and the warmest March ever.

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Image: MN Climate Working Group

 

The Mn Climate Working Group recalls.

The 2013 meteorological spring season exhibited cooler than normal temperatures and plenty of precipitation for Minnesota and surrounding regions. For many regions the precipitation ranked in the top 15 years of data keeping for spring, however most locations were eclipsed by the 2012 spring season. This being said, the 2013 spring season still had some of the highest amounts of precipitation on record. A couple of interesting notes-- Rochester had the wettest spring on record, beating out 2001’s precipitation by over 6 inches. Fargo also had a wet spring, yet it could not beat out 1902’s record at 11.44 inches.

4) June 20-21st derecho and wind damage

The worst wind storm in years to hit the metro knocked down thousands of trees and knocked out power to over 500,000. Literally the equivalent of a 15-minute Category 1 hurricane, the storm produced wind gusts to over 70 mph and downed thousands of trees and power lines up in it's path.

Here's the Twin Cities doppler image from the evening of June 21st.

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June 21st derecho pounds the metro. Image: Twin Cities NWS

And this was a common scene around the metro.

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Tree on house in Plymouth. Image: Joanne Quick Sather
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Wind gusts on June 21st. Image: Twin Cities NWS

5) Best 4th of July ever?

In the good weather news department, it will be hard to recall a better 4th of July in Minnesota. The metro hit 90F with tolerable dew points in the 50s and balmy southerly breezes.

A nice reward for grinding out a bumpy 1st half of 2013?

Paul Huttner