Sunnier days ahead; first 70 this weekend?
April is a promise that May is bound to keep. -Hal Borland
Spring in Minnesota can be a painfully slow process. Winter is over, yet the days warm reluctantly. Our early April landscape seems stuck in a time warp between winter and spring. The snow is gone, but our landscape is not yet green. Our lakes are ice-free, yet frigid.
The good news?
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April is here. Welcome the the brightest and warmest seven months of the year in Minnesota. The sun climbs noticeably higher in the sky these next few weeks. The days will warm more quickly now. This weekend looks like the warmest weekend in five months.
Spring is ready to show herself.
Sun returns
Here's come the sun. Tuesday dawns with a few lingering clouds, but the day turns brighter in the afternoon hours. Minnesota enjoys a string of sunnier days the rest of the week, right into Saturday.
Warmest weekend in five months
Next weekend will be the warmest weekend in five months. The Twin Cities enjoyed highs in the 70s the weekend of Nov. 5-6 last fall. We bounce around in the 50s this week. Then temps make a run at 70 next weekend in the Twin Cities and much of southern Minnesota.
Rain holds off Sunday?
The latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Global Forecast System runs suggest rain may hold off until Sunday evening. That could give us two banner days this weekend. We'll see, timing will likely change. But if the rain holds off and we get enough sun Sunday, 70+ degrees is a real possibility.
NOAA's GFS shows a stunningly nice Friday, windy but mild Saturday, and a mild Sunday ahead of an approaching low-pressure system.
GOES 16 continues to amaze
The temporal and spatial detail on the new GOES 16 satellite images is simply amazing. Look at the fine detail captured on convective storms in Texas and Louisiana. I can't wait to use these for convective season in Minnesota this summer.
Renewable energy boom creating revenue and jobs in Minnesota
My jaw almost hit the floor when I realized that fully a third of Minnesota construction giant Mortenson's revenue came from renewable energy projects last year. The scale of that for our future economy is something to consider. Growing evidence that going green on energy, generates some serious green for the bottom line.
Sweden: Fully renewable by 2040?
It's happening faster than just about anybody projected.
UK setting records
Less energy demand during the day than at night? That's a significant shift in the way power is being generated in the UK.
Early symptoms of El Nino?
The warm water pattern in the tropical Pacific is unusual this year. But it could be the start of another El Nino. Unfortunately some of the first symptoms of a severe El Nino event can be devastating floods in South America.
Play Ball! And geek out on climate too.
It turns out Royals pitcher Danny Duffy can pitch, and chew climate gum at the same time.