What happened to summer?

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NWS storm total dopper rainfall shows abundant 1" rains in southwest Minnesota overnight.

The weather maps are looking a little scary for July.

While it feels like July south of Minnesota with temperatures in the 90s this week in places like Kansas City, the air over much of Minnesota and Wisconsin feels more like September.

It's 45 in Ely and Silver Bay this morning. The thermometer dipped to 40 in Marquette, Michigan and set a new record low today. Houghton saw a high of just 59 Tuesday!

A cool Canadian high pressure system is nosing into the Upper Midwest today. I'm supposed to be writing those words in early September, not on July 8th. Dew points are in the 40s this morning from the Twin Cities northeast into Wisconsin and Michigan.

The dividing line between summer like air to the south and crisp fall like air to the north is sitting right over southern Minnesota this week. Last night's thunderstorm cluster travelled right along that line, producing widespread beneficial ran in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

The jet stream will buckle southward and send a cool front our way this weekend. It looks like much of Minnesota will not climb out of the 70s over the weekend. A few spots in Northern Minnesota may stay in the 60s. It may feel more like the first week of September than July 8th.

This push-pull pattern is part of a high amplitude jet stream that has Alaska basking in summer heat while the northeast U.S. shivers. It was nearly 20 degrees warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska than in Boston Tuesday. Fairbanks has been in the 80s for 5 consecutive days. The high in Boston was 66 on Tuesday.

There are signs in the medium range models that the heat could return to Minnesota along about July 19th. For now, I'm from Missouri on this one. Show me.

PH