Warmest day of 2017 so far; weird jet stream pattern

Thermometers surged Friday afternoon across Minnesota. A balmy bubble of early May warmth shoved all the way to the Canadian border.

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Oklahoma Mesonet

This is the warmest day so far this year in the Twin Cities and much of the Upper Midwest.

Cooler by the lake

One thing you can usually count on near Lake Superior? A "refreshing" breeze.

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Most of Minnesota basked in June-like glory. Along the North Shore temperatures hovered in the 30s and 40s near the big water Friday.

Beautiful weekend

A weak cool front blowing through Minnesota tonight acts as a temperature speed bump this weekend. It's still going to be glorious, but temps will hover in the 60s this weekend. 70s returns early next week.

My kind of cool front.

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NOAA via Weather Bell

Patchy frost Sunday morning?

Sunday looks like the coolest morning of the next few weeks, maybe the rest of the season. Some patchy frost looks likely north and east of the twin Cities Sunday morning. Otherwise the forecast is all weather rainbows and unicorns.

Wet pattern south and east

The Twin Cities bagged nearly 5 inches of rainfall in the past month. It's been drier as you move north and west across Minnesota into the Dakotas. But heavy rains have caused flooding in Missouri and Illinois.

"Wavepattern 6:" Weird jet stream pattern ahead

Meteorologists count the number of waves in the jet stream as it circles the globe. (I know. Please don't call the people in the white suits to take us away until you read the piece below.)

Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang has an interesting write up on our unusual evolving wave pattern.

The number and amplitude of waves int he jet stream tell us a lot about the persistence and intensity of weather patterns. The current 6-wave pattern unfolding in the upper atmosphere is likely to produce some extreme weather effects in parts of the planet the next couple of weeks. This blocking pattern can cause "stuck" weather patterns. Minnesota is fortunately stuck under the sunnier warmer ridge for now. But it's a different story under the soggy spinning low pressure cells on the coasts.

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Climate Cast: Choc-pocalypse ahead?

It turns out climate changes are affecting sensitive growing zones for things like cocoa, almonds, and vanilla. On Climate Cast this week, I spoke with Jerry Lynch from General Mills about how climate change is already working its way into the supply chains of big food companies like General Mills.

Who knew Betty Crocker would be dealing with climate change back in the 60s?

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