Delightful Wednesday; Thunder Thursday? 1st 90 Friday? June bugs!

Quick look forecast: (Click to enlarge)

Source: Twin Cities NWS

Good sleeping weather 40s overnight in the metro

30s and scattered frost in northern Minnesota Wednesday AM!

Postcard Wednesday - Sunshine and 70s and light winds

Growing thunder threat Thursday and possibly this weekend

"Hot Front" Friday - A shot at 90 in the metro and southern Minnesota?

1st June Bugs buzzing around the Weather Lab Monday night!

We're #19! Duluth - 19th "least polluted" city in the nation

Weather Perfection?

It's hard to define "perfect weather" for Minnesotans.

I've talked to thousands of weather obsessed Minnesotans over a 20+ year weather career, and one person's weather "trash" is truly another's treasure.

I can tell you this. My unscientific "spidey weather sense" tells me Wednesday's weather is about as close as you can get to perfect for many of us. Bright sun, nearly 15 hours of daylight, light wind and temps near 70? People move to San Diego (and pay millions for homes) for this kind of weather.

We get it for free in Minnesota Wednesday. Our "free air conditioning" means great sleeping weather, and another ideal day to hit the lake, links or manicure your thick lush green grass.

Enjoy!

Source: Twin Cities NWS

Thursday Thunder?

A warm front will bubble north into Minnesota by Thursday.

The leading edge of Maritime Tropical (mT) air mass courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico may trigger some Thursday thunder as it pushes north.

Source: NOAA/UCAR

The warm front may trigger overnight T-Storms early Thursday AM that may push east into Minnesota Thursday morning. These front can go "nocturnal" meaning they trigger developing T-Storm complexes or '"Mesoscale Convective Systems" (MCS) overnight that can rumble into the morning hours.

"Rain at 7, Sun by 11" and "Sunrise Surprise" are and old sayings that often apply to summertime MCS.

Friday "Hot Front:" A shot at 90?

As the warm front pushes north toward the Canadian Border Friday, a warm southerly breeze may turn downright hot by Friday afternoon.

If we get enough sun, temps could push 90 in southwest Minnesota, and the Twin Cities could make a late day run at 90 Friday.

"Meteorgram" Courtesy Iowa State University

Weekend Thunder?

We'll have to keep an eye out for thunder and local downpours this weekend. A gathering cool front will push in Sunday. After a warm & humid Saturday, thunder should push in from the west Saturday night into Sunday. Timing is always difficult this far out, but expect at least some rain and thunder this weekend, with several dry sunny warm and humid hours Saturday...and a potentially wet transition to cooler air Sunday.

June Bugs arrive early in 2012: May 14th!

I had to do a double take Monday night when a big, lumbering June Bug started buzzing on the weather lab window screen around 11:40pm.

Is that a....a June Bug?

Yep!

Source: Harper College

It reminded me of how June bugs seemed to appear amazingly like clockwork every year right around June 1st in the metro. In this "year without a winter" and a record March and early spring I guess I should have expected that. But it still caught me off guard.

Viva La June Bug!

Duluth: We're #19!

Some good news from the American Lung Association.

Duluth comes in at #19 for the "least polluted" air in the nation.

Source: Lake Superior Marine Museum

Here's an excerpt from Huffpost

American Lung Association has released their State Of The Air 2012 report, detailing cities with the least and most air pollution in America. Each city is ranked by ozone pollution, short-term particle pollution, and year-long particle pollution.

Below are the report's "Top 25 Least Polluted Cities by Year-Round Particle Pollution." Although many problem regions still exist, the report shows that all but three of the most ozone-polluted cities improved air quality, and over 50% of the worst smog-makers were having their best year thus far.

It's interesting to note that Tucson, AZ is the 4th least polluted city, while Phoenix comes in as the 7th most polluted city in the nation. People in Arizona talk about the infamous "brown cloud" that envelopes Phoenix, while the air quality in Tucson is relatively cleaner. Phoenix/Mesa has 4 million+ residents, while Tucson is around 1 million. Also, Tucson sits about 1,500 feet higher in elevation vs. Phoenix, and the mountain/valley wind system works a little better to clear out the air on a daily basis in Tucson. Tucson also gets 3 times as many "air washing" thunderstorms per year than Phoenix.

Breathe easily!

PH