Excessive rains possible, preview was Saturday evening

Watching the radar from the Target Field weather lab on Saturday evening it was clear the heavy rain was setting up over western Wisconsin. Here's a graphic provided by the Chanhassen National Weather Service of the radar estimated rainfall for the event.

Click on image to enlarge. The small purple pixel represents an estimate of around six inches for the period 7am CDT Saturday to 7am CDT on Sunday

Eau Claire Airport reported 4.74 inches of rain on Saturday evening. LaCrosse measured 4.50 inches. Both of these totals were daily records.

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A meteorological summary of the deluge has been posted on the NWS Chanhassen website. See details.

Thankfully we were able to salvage a pretty decent Sunday. This upcoming week, particularly the next three days will be soggy at the least and perhaps downright dangerously wet in some locations.

A very slow moving, spring-like weather system will track through the upper Midwest. The snail pace from west to east will place Minnesota, as well as the eastern Dakotas and western Wisconsin in a prime region for heavy rainfall.

Here's NOAA's Environmental Prediction Center's estimate for rainfall accumulations in the next seventy-two hours.

This graphic gives a general sense of the most likely region for heavy rain. Isolated totals similar to Saturday evening's rain in western Wisconsin are very possible.

Have time to probe beneath the headlines? Here's a great link on the meteorologist's insight on the upcoming heavy rainfall, courtesy of the National Weather Service in Chanhassen.

After enduring this drenching, we can look forward to the prospects of some warmer and drier weather next week. Here's the Climate Prediction Center's temperature outlook for the next eight to fourteen days. Odds favor above normal temperatures.

The Climate Prediction Center's precipitation outlook for the period June 27 to July 3rd, indicates the odds favor less than normal precipitation in our neck of the woods.

By the way the radar is already lit-up in Iowa and far southern Minnesota this morning. The deluge is at hand.

CE