Heat Storm: 120-degree heat index in Windom; storms brewing overnight
Welcome to the jungle.
Most of Minnesota cooked in brutal July heat Wednesday. We're riding the northern edge of a deep tropical air mass. Heat index values topped 100-degrees at many southern Minnesota locations.
The dew point at Windom reached a jungle-like 84 degrees and produced a dangerous heat index of 120 degrees.
Windom's 84-degree dew point temperature is just 4 degrees shy of the all-time Minnesota state record dew point of 88-degrees in Morehead on July 19, 2011.
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After verifying that the dew point sensor at the Moorhead Airport automated station was operating properly, it has been determined that the 88 degree F dew point temperature recorded from 7pm to 9pm July 19, 2011 is the Minnesota state record for highest dew point temperature. The previous dew point temperature record was 86 degrees F set at Pipestone and St. James on July 23, 2005.
Storms brewing
Thunderstorms roll through northern Minnesota and may reach the Twin Cities overnight. The slow-moving nature and heavy downpours prompted the Duluth NWS to issue a flash flood watch for much of northeast Minnesota. There is also a risk for severe storms with large hail and damaging winds.
Twin Cities: Sunrise surprise?
The best chance of storms in the Twin Cities appears to be between about 3 and 7 am Thursday. The front stalls out near the Twin Cities Thursday, and that may mean another batch of storms Thursday afternoon into Friday morning.
Here's NOAA's NAM 3 km model.
Relief next week
Wednesday marks the 12th day at or above 90-degrees in the Twin Cities this year. Our annual average is 13 days, and we're still a few days shy of the midpoint of meteorological summer. We stay warm and sticky through the weekend. A significant cool front brings a fresh and cooler Canadian air mass our way by Monday.
Stay cool and classy Minnesota.