Rains to the south as summer begins; quiet weather tomorrow and Saturday
Happy Summer Solstice!
This is the astronomical start of summer:
The meteorological start of summer is June 1, because most meteorologists refer to the three warmest months (June, July and August) as summer.
Feel free to celebrate both starts to summer!
Create a More Connected Minnesota
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By the way, you can find sunrise and sunset times for many locations for an entire year at the U.S. Naval Observatory site.
For example, here are 2018 sunrise and sunset times for Minneapolis.
Too much rain
Turn off the rain-maker!
Many southwestern and south-central Minnesota counties have seen generous rains in the past 24 hours, and the rain continues over far southern Minnesota this Thursday morning. The rain should gradually become more scattered later this afternoon, and eventually move out of Minnesota.
NOAA's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service shows shows where the heaviest rains fell in the 24 hours ending at 7 a.m. today:
You can see some three-to-five-inch amounts in the far southwest.
When you look at the 7-day rainfall totals ending at 7 a.m. today, it's impressive that so many parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin have seen a lot of rain:
Flood warning update
A flood warning continues until 10:15 p.m. this Thursday for Rock, Nobles and Jackson counties in far southwestern Minnesota:
Details of the flood warning:
Flood Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
419 AM CDT THU JUN 21 2018
IAC041-059-119-141-143-167-MNC063-105-133-220315-
/O.CON.KFSD.FA.W.0006.000000T0000Z-180622T0315Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Lyon IA-Osceola IA-Dickinson IA-Sioux IA-Clay IA-O`Brien IA-Rock MN-
Jackson MN-Nobles MN-
419 AM CDT THU JUN 21 2018
...A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1015 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR
EASTERN LYON...OSCEOLA...DICKINSON...NORTHEASTERN SIOUX...CLAY...
O`BRIEN...EASTERN ROCK...JACKSON AND NOBLES COUNTIES...
At 416 AM CDT, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated
upwards of 3 to 4 inches of rain has fallen across the warning area
since Wednesday afternoon. Additionally, local emergency management
and highway departments of transportation were reporting water over
some roads in the warning area.
Some locations that will experience flooding include...
Worthington, Spencer In Clay County, Sheldon, Spirit Lake, Jackson In
Jackson County, Sibley, Milford, Lakefield, Hartley, Sanborn, Adrian,
Arnolds Park, Lake Park, George, Bergen, Primghar, Okoboji, Heron
Lake, Sutherland and Orleans.
Additional rainfall amounts up to one half inch are possible in the
warned area before rain ends Thursday afternoon.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.
Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small
creeks and streams, country roads, farmland, and other low lying
spots.
Please report flooding to your local law enforcement agency when you
can do so safely.
The smaller green-shaded areas in the Twin Cities metro area and elsewhere are warnings for flooding along some rivers. Here's a summary:
Flood Statement
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
836 PM CDT Wed Jun 20 2018
...The flood warning continues for the following rivers in
Wisconsin...Minnesota...
Chippewa River at Durand affecting Buffalo and Pepin Counties
Redwood River near Redwood Falls affecting Redwood County
...The flood warning continues for the following rivers in
Minnesota..
Minnesota River near Jordan affecting Carver and Scott Counties
Minnesota River at Savage affecting Dakota...Hennepin and Scott
Counties
.Overview...This river forecast is based on Rain that has fallen across
the basins since last weekend and also 24 hour forecast precipitation.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Do not drive cars through flooded areas. Turn Around...Don`t Drown.
Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your local radio or TV station
for the latest information concerning this flood event.
&&
MNC037-053-139-220736-
/O.CON.KMPX.FL.W.0024.180621T1800Z-000000T0000Z/
/SAVM5.1.ER.180621T1800Z.180628T0000Z.000000T0000Z.NO/
836 PM CDT Wed Jun 20 2018
The Flood Warning continues for
The Minnesota River at Savage.
* from Thursday afternoon until further notice.
* At 8:00 PM Wednesday the stage was 701.6 feet.
* Minor flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 702.0 feet.
* Forecast...Rise above flood stage by Thursday afternoon and then
continue to rise to near 706.3 feet by Wednesday evening.
Additional rises are possible thereafter.
* Impact...At 705.0 feet...Flood waters begin to impact the park road
at Fort Snelling State Park.
* Impact...At 702.0 feet...Barge loading stops at Port Cargill, and
other flood prevention measures are begun. Water begins to impact
Black Dog Road in Burnsville.
* Impact...At 700.0 feet...Flood waters begin to cover trails at Fort
Snelling State Park as well as low parts on the Bloomington Ferry
Bridge trail just east of US 169.
Here's the latest on the flood warning for the Minnesota River at Jordan:
MNC019-139-220736-
/O.CON.KMPX.FL.W.0023.000000T0000Z-000000T0000Z/
/JDNM5.2.ER.180620T1137Z.180627T0000Z.000000T0000Z.NO/
836 PM CDT Wed Jun 20 2018
The Flood Warning continues for
The Minnesota River near Jordan.
* until further notice.
* At 7:45 PM Wednesday the stage was 25.1 feet.
* Minor flooding is occurring and Minor flooding is forecast to continue.
* Flood stage is 25.0 feet.
* Forecast...The river will continue rising to near 29.0 feet by
Tuesday evening then begin falling.
* Impact...At 29.5 feet...Highway 41 at Chaforska may close when the
river reaches this stage.
* Impact...At 26.7 feet...The bridge at Scott County Road 9 and Carver
County Road 11/Jonathan Carver Parkway will be closed.
* Impact...At 25.0 feet...Low lying areas and some roads along the
river begin to flood and private sanitary sewers may experience
problems.
Flood warnings and flood statements will be updated today by the NWS.
You can go to the Twin Cities NWS office web page and click on locations of interest for the latest flooding info.
You can click on this map for the latest river levels and forecast river levels at many locations.
Here's an example:
Drought update
It's not surprising that the latest update from U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Minnesota is free of drought:
The areas shaded yellow are abnormally dry but not in drought, according to U.S. Drought Monitor.
Temperature trends
We'll have an upside down high temperature map this Thursday afternoon. Highs in the 80s are expected in north-central and northwestern Minnesota, with mainly 70s elsewhere. Highs will only reach the 60s in far southern MN and near the north shore of Lake Superior.
Friday highs will be mostly in the 70s, with a few lower 80s far north:
Saturday will feature upper 70s and lower 80s:
Sunday will be similar, but cool 60s spread across the northeast:
Our average Twin Cities metro area high temp is 80 degrees this time of year.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.