Cooler and drier after a stormy Sunday
Very warm and humid conditions over Minnesota on Sunday ignited strong to severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. A couple of thunderstorms north of St. Cloud showed strong rotation on the Doppler radar and prompted tornado warnings from the National Weather Service.
The storm report from the National Weather Service includes word of a brief tornado touchdown west of Granite Ledge in Benton County.
Heavy rain also accompanied the storms, with 2.55 inches of rain reported in West Duluth Sunday evening. Rainfall and storm reports for northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin are posted from the National Weather Service Office in Duluth.
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NOAA's satellite captured this nice image around 6 a.m. Monday of the cloud tops from the thunderstorms gradually weakening in Wisconsin.
The high temperature at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport topped out at 89 degrees. So far this summer there have been only two days of 90 degrees or warmer at the airport. Both were in July. It did reach 90 at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie.
The dew point reached 81 degrees Sunday morning at Montevideo , Minn.
The high temperature at Faribault, in southern Minnesota, was 91 degrees on Sunday afternoon.
Rainfall is been quite sparse this month in portions of central Minnesota, with only 1.43 inches accumulated at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and only 1.26 inches at the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen.
The report of August rainfall from the Midwest Regional Climate Center through Saturday, Aug. 23, depicts the below normal precipitation in central Minnesota as well as the generous rains in central Wisconsin.
It has been dry in northern Minnesota as well, with only 0.63 inches of rain at International Falls.
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Lower relative humidity and more comfortable temperatures are on tap for much of the workweek. Generally dry conditions are likely for the northern half of the state. The best chance for rain in central Minnesota comes on Thursday and Thursday night.
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As a frontal boundary sets up in northern Iowa, the focus for heavy rainfall is in northern Iowa and far southern Minnesota.
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The forecast from NOAA of rainfall through Wednesday night sets up the bull's-eye of accumulated rainfall around Sioux City, Iowa.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Saturday is expected to bring comfortable if not cool temperatures.
