Steamy weekend; heat safety tips
Rochester, Minn., saw more than a month's worth of rain overnight Thursday night into early Friday. Their total of almost 5 inches set a new daily rainfall record for June:
Standard time is used for climate records, so June 28 began at 1 a.m. CDT.
A section of southeastern Minnesota saw 4 to 7 inches of rain:
Rochester had .73 of an inch of rain Thursday, so their 24-hour rainfall was 5.63 inches. There were very high 24-hour rainfall totals in several southeastern Minnesota locations.
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Updates on the southeastern Minnesota flooding can be found here.
Steamy weekend
Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see Friday afternoon highs in the 80s, with some 70s near Lake Superior. I wouldn't be surprised if a few spots in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area touch 90.
Highs in the 90s will be widespread on Saturday:
Saturday dew points will be in the steamy 70s in much of central and southern Minnesota, plus western Wisconsin, leading to heat indexes of 100 degrees or higher in many locations.
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11:30 a.m. Update
The Twin Cities office of the NWS has issued an excessive heat watch for the Twin Cities metro area for Saturday morning through Sunday evening:
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
1055 AM CDT Fri Jun 28 2019
MNZ060>063-068>070-290000-
/O.NEW.KMPX.EH.A.0001.190629T1400Z-190701T0300Z/
Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Carver-Scott-Dakota-
Including the cities of Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater,
Chaska, Shakopee, and Hastings
1055 AM CDT Fri Jun 28 2019
...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH
SUNDAY EVENING...
The National Weather Service in Twin Cities/Chanhassen has issued
an Excessive Heat Watch, which is in effect from Saturday morning
through Sunday evening.
* TEMPERATURE...Afternoon heat indices Saturday and Sunday
afternoon are expected to top out around 100 degrees, with
overnight lows Sunday morning only falling to around 75 degrees.
* IMPACTS...These warm temperatures during the day, with limited
cooling overnight Saturday night will lead to increased risk for
heat related illnesses for those active outdoors or with limited
access to air conditioned spaces.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
An Excessive Heat Watch means that a prolonged period of hot
temperatures is expected. The combination of hot temperatures and
high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in
which heat illnesses are possible. Drink plenty of fluids...stay
in an air-conditioned room...stay out of the sun...and check up
on relatives and neighbors.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sunday highs will be in the 80s north, with 90s south:
Triple-digit heat indexes are expected across much of southern Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin Sunday afternoon. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to retreat into the lower 80s for Monday, followed by mid-80s Tuesday through Thursday.
Heat safety
The weekend combination of heat and humidity could cause health and safety issues for some people.
Here are some heat safety tips from NOAA:
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke have different symptoms:
Rain chances
Parts of far southern Minnesota could see a shower or an isolated thunderstorm Friday afternoon and Friday evening.
On Saturday, some showers and thunderstorms are possible in northwestern Minnesota late in the afternoon and into Saturday evening. That shower and thunderstorm chance expands into other parts of northern Minnesota and central Minnesota overnight Saturday night. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible anywhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Sunday.
NOAA's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain. It'll rain in some areas that look dry in the NAM loop, but the loop shows the general rain pattern within the model.
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.