May-tober today, sun returns tomorrow
Minnesota weather has a funny way of reminding us just how far north we live.
We endure one more cool, blustery, gray day today. A heavy, Octoberish sky leaks occasional showers once again. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES satellite water vapor loop showers the gray smudge swirling over Minnesota today. Think of this as the back of your weather cereal box: Can you pick out the embedded mini vortices inside the bigger low-pressure system below? (Hint: Think Fargo. N.D., and Canby, Minn.)
Passing showers again
Prepare for more passing showers marching southeast today in persistent northwest flow. NOAA's High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model captures the essence with more numerous showers up north.
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Sun returns Wednesday
Watch the clouds pull out of here as sun returns Wednesday on NOAA's Global Forecast System model low-cloud fraction model. Wednesday and Thursday look bright and sunny.
Warmer
Temps respond nicely to sun this time of year. Did I mention the summer solstice is just over three weeks away? Ugh.
Highs in the 70s return tomorrow, and we push 80-plus by Friday. Another temperature speed bump just in time for next weekend?
Rain again next weekend?
Most models bring another rainy low-pressure system our way by next Saturday. Here's the Canadian GEM model's version of events. A stunningly beautiful week starting tomorrow gives way to Saturday rain and thunder potential. I'm just your humble weather messenger.
Where were you in '98?
I was working in Arizona, but I remember the massive derecho that blasted from Upper Midwest to New York that day.
Here's the impressive radar loop.
Greenland glacial wave
How stable, or unstable are our ice sheets as climate rapidly warms? That's one of the "unknown unknowns" that keeps many climate scientists up at night. Data from 2012 suggest the Greenland ice sheet may be more susceptible to rapid melt than we thought.
Coastal flooding reaches chronic phase
A hidden "climate adaptation tax" on all of us? Get used to paying more for infrastructure to battle increased coastal flooding as sea level rise accelerates.