More heat and humidity; strong thunderstorms pound north central Minnesota

Some relief is in store today for northern Minnesota, while central and southern Minnesota see the mercury rise into the 90s accompanied by high relative humidity. Heat index values will surpass 100 degrees again this afternoon from around Morris, Minn., through the Twin Cities into Wisconsin.

hazards
Excessive heat and humiidty warning purple region. Heat Advisory in surrounding area.

 

Sun
Sun angle lowering, but still adds 10 degrees to the noon tempeature by being in direct sunshine.

 

High temperatures could top out above 100 degrees in far southeast Minnesota and Iowa. Light winds today will offer little relief from the oppressive conditions. Avoid being in the direct sunshine from mid morning through mid afternoon.

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La Crosse, Wis., tied a dew point record on Monday afternoon.

RECORD EVENT REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI

401 AM CDT TUE AUG 27 2013

...RECORD DAILY DEW POINT IN LA CROSSE WI...

ON AUGUST 26TH...THE DEW POINT CLIMBED TO 75 DEGREES AT 653 PM.

THIS TIED 1973 AND 1980 FOR THE HIGHEST DEW POINT ON THIS DATE.

Strong thunderstorms hammered portions of central Minnesota late yesterday afternoon.  Heavy rain and gusty winds swept through the lakes region into northwest Wisconsin.

Cloud tops
Visible satellite image form around 630 p.m. CDT on Monday showing penetrating cloud tops.

Radar reflectivity at 6:43 p.m.  depicted the strong thunderstorm that was about to  dump large hail in Otter Tail County.

Radar image
Signature on radar showed the potential for a tornado, indicated by the hook. Source:NOAA/Wunderground.com

Path of the hail producing storm is shown on this precipitation graphic as the streak of moisture from northwest to southeast.

Estimated rainfall
Large hail fell with the storm that tracked from near Perham and Ottertail County.

Some hail reports from the National Weather Service in Grand Forks:

0745 PM     HAIL             NEW YORK MILLS          46.52N 95.37W

08/26/2013  E2.50 INCH       OTTER TAIL         MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

HAIL UP TO 2 TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 1.31 INCHES OF

RAIN.

0745 PM     HAIL             NEW YORK MILLS          46.52N 95.37W

08/26/2013  E3.00 INCH       OTTER TAIL         MN   BROADCAST MEDIA

More hail reports can be found here.

Very heavy rain fell with the thunderstorms that blossomed west of Duluth and moved into northwest and central Wisconsin.

Rain near Superior
Rainfall estimate from radar ending at 555 a.m. CDT Tuesday morning.

Over an inch and a half of rain fell at Superior, Wis.,  with 5.80 inches near Maple in Douglas County, Wis.

Rainfall reports from the Duluth NWS Office can be seen by clicking here.

Portions of the Twin Cities are in need of moisture. It has been since Aug. 6 that measurable rain was reported at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. There has been only two days, Aug. 5 and 6, with measurable rain at MSP.

Already thinking about the weather for the Gopher football opener on Thursday evening?  Here's a temperature forecast from the GFS (Global Forecast System) for 4 p.m. Thursday.

Thursday 4 p.m. CDT
Model forecast of temperatures and winds at the surface at 4 p.m. CDT Thursday.

Relief from the heat  arrives on Sunday. Labor Day looks much more comfortable.