It’s a wild, wild, weather world
We're running out of colors on the weather maps. 27 states are under some type of weather warning or advisory today. Hurricane, tornado, flood, winter weather, and freeze warnings are up across the USA. Take your pick.
Angry Lake Superior
Our inbound low-pressure system winds up overnight into Wednesday. The tightening pressure gradient will drive fierce northeast winds over a long fetch of Lake Superior. Gust may hit 50 mph.Waves of 14 to 18 feet will pound the shoreline. That's why the lakeshore flood warning has been hoisted by the Duluth NWS office.
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Lakeshore Hazard Message
National Weather Service Duluth MN
316 PM CDT Tue Oct 9 2018
...Lakeshore Flooding from Large Waves Tonight and Wednesday...
.Strong northeast winds will develop over western Lake Superior
tonight into Wednesday afternoon with the potential for powerful
storm-force wind gusts to 50 knots. These winds will cause large
waves over western Lake Superior that will crash on the shoreline
with waves of 12 to 16 feet or higher. The waves could be big
enough to cause damage to the shoreline. The water level of Lake
Superior is quite high, making the shoreline more prone to getting
damage from waves.
Southern Lake/North Shore-Carlton/South St. Louis-Douglas-
Bayfield-Ashland-
316 PM CDT Tue Oct 9 2018
...LAKESHORE FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO
4 PM CDT WEDNESDAY...
The National Weather Service in Duluth has issued a Lakeshore
Flood Warning, which is in effect from 10 PM this evening to 4 PM
CDT Wednesday. The Lakeshore Flood Watch is no longer in effect.
* LAKE SHORE FLOODING...Areas of the North and South Shores of
western Lake Superior, including Two Harbors, the Duluth and
Superior areas, and Ashland.
* TIMING...This evening through Wednesday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Damage is possible to shoreline infrastructure, such
as to harbors, beaches, lake walkways such as the Duluth Lakewalk,
and roads near the shore.
Plowable snow up north
Yes, it will be cold enough for snow in northern Minnesota Wednesday. The significant snow will fall in northwest and north-central Minnesota.
Double-digit totals are possible near the Canadian border. Here's NOAA's GFS model snowfall output. Your results may vary.
The flood watch continues into Wednesday morning from the Twin Cities south and east.
Iowa Tornadoes
As of this writing, tornado watches and warnings are flying across Iowa and Missouri.
Tornadoes have already been sighted in Iowa.
2 E Toledo [Tama Co, IA] EMERGENCY MNGR reports TORNADO at 4:59 PM CDT -- EM RELAYS REPORT OF TORNADO ON GROUND FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Tornado watches extend all the way into Wisconsin.
Milder next week
The maps still suggest milder and drier air next week. The big question is how warm we will get. Some models are still suggesting 60s.
Michael intensifies
Hurricane Michael has reached Category 3 intensity with 120 mph winds. Michael will slam into the Floria Gulf coast Wednesday with a storm surge up to 13 feet.