Another heat wave is coming
Yes, hot weather reinforcements are on their way. But first, let's enjoy the rest of a lovely August Thursday. Thanks to yesterday's cold front, temperatures are pleasantly summery and dewpoints are in the comfy 40s and 50s instead of the gooey low 70s of Wednesday.
Thursday has been the 15th consecutive day without measurable rain at the official Twin Cities rain gauge at Minneapolis St. Paul International airport. But it was a near miss as strong and severe thunderstorms passed across the southern suburbs on Wednesday. Rain and hail raked the southern metro including much of Scott and Dakota Counties as well a good portion of southern Minnesota.
The storms really came together over Rochester Wednesday afternoon and caused flooding. Nearly four inches of rain was measured in northwestern Rochester near IBM. Cars were stalled with water up to their windows. The Rochester Post-Bulletin reported flooding.
Three homes were struck by lightning and power outages due to straight line winds were reported in Rochester as well.
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Looking ahead now, Friday will be a very pleasant day with highs in the low to mid 80s.
Saturday will re-introduce the chance of scattered thunderstorms. Hotter weather will begin again, especially in southwestern Minnesota.
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Sunday is likely to be a blowtorch day with a hot south wind across the state. Highs will range from the upper 80s to the 90s. And the dew point will make a serious climb through the 60s.
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The upcoming heat wave should last through most of next week with a few oscillations in the temperature field from time to time. It's the kind of pattern that just sits over the United States and has nothing to move it out to the east.
Much of the next week will be rain-free across southern Minnesota. The best chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms will be in the north where the atmosphere will not be "capped" by hot air aloft. Capping prevents columns of humid air from rising enough to form storms.
Meanwhile, wildfires continue to roar out west. One fire that has been growing recently is the Rim Fire west of Yosemite National Park.