Rocking the Weather Garden

Things are looking up for an improving weekend forecast. Here's an update from on site at 89.3 The Current's Rock The Garden at the Walker Art Center.

Our fading early Saturday morning sunrise MCS blew through the metro after putting down a swath of severe weather across South Dakota.

The bow echo raced across South Dakota Friday night as expected with numerous wind gusts recorded over 70 mph, including a 93 mph gust clocked by a storm chaser near Okaton.

• 4 E Okaton [Jones Co, SD] STORM CHASER reports TSTM WND GST of M93 MPH at 12:25 AM CDT --

• 10 W Lower Brule [Lyman Co, SD] TRAINED SPOTTER reports TSTM WND GST of E90 MPH at 1:05 AM CDT -- ESTIMATED 90 MPH WINDS FLIPPED OVER A PICKUP TRUCK. LARGE AREA OF SHINGLES BLOWN OFF ROOF WITH LARGE TREE BRANCHES DOWNED.

Here's a look at the impressive MCS generated bow echo as it raced toward Sioux Falls and southwest Minnesota overnight.

This is the line of storms that later blew through the Twin Cities early Saturday morning. Some impressive rainfall totals over 1" fell in western and central Minnesota.

MAX/MIN TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TABLE FOR MINNESOTA

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

737 AM CDT SAT JUN 20 2015

Values represent highs yesterday...Lows over the last 12 hours

and precipitation over the last 24 hours

ID: Location: Max tempMin temp/Pcpn

DLH : Duluth : 70 / 53 / 0.01

INL : International Falls : 67 / 56 / 0.05

MSP : Minneapolis MN : 79 / 64 / 0.27

RST : Rochester MN : 78 / 61 / 0.05

STC : St Cloud MN : 77 / 63 / 1.46

AXN : Alexandria MN : 79 / 63 / 1.32

GNA : Grand Marais : 56 / 43 / 0.01

HIB : Hibbing : 74 / 51 / 0.20

Improving weekend forecast

Timing is everything in weather and life. Most of the weekend looks favorable for outdoor activities around most of Minnesota. The next wave brings another storm cluster late Sunday night or Monday morning.

Here's a look at the next low pressure wave due in late Sunday night and Monday.

Monday's severe risk includes Minnesota and points east. Right now the timing could favor another "sunrise surprise" Monday morning for the metro and eastern Minnesota.

Enjoy the weekend and keep an ear out for possible storms by Monday morning.

Climate change ground truth? Water woes hit home in California

Is this the first shot in the drought driven water wars in California? It looks that way. A sobering piece form the LA Times.

Master-planned community at risk of losing all water within days

When the state last week took the rare step of curtailing the water rights of more than 100 irrigation districts and growers, it appeared that agricultural areas would be the hardest hit.

But now, an upscale master-planned community of 15,000 residents in San Joaquin County is facing the loss of all water supplies within days — prompting a frantic search for new sources.

Unlike the vast majority of communities in California, Mountain House purchases all its water from a single rural irrigation district. And that agency was covered by the state's order curtailing water rights for some of those who have held them for more than century due to the state's worsening drought.

Even if Mountain House can't find a new supplier, the state could allow the local irrigation district to deliver just enough to maintain "health and safety" in the community, according to a letter from the State Water Resources Control Board.

Still, officials in the town near Tracy say that millions of dollars in landscaping and thousands of acres of crops are at risk.

"If we're unable to procure supplemental supplies, it'll be catastrophic," said Rick Gilmore, general manager of the Byron Bethany Irrigation District, which supplies Mountain House with its water. "Even if we are successful, I don't know how much water we're going to be able to acquire to fulfill our needs.… Some folks are going to feel the pain.

Those 10,000+ lakes dotted across the Minnesota landscape are looking better by the hour.