Heat and Wind Persist in June

Heat and Wind Persist in June:

The stubborn weather pattern of June continues to bring above normal temperatures to most of Minnesota with winds that are stronger than normal. Many farmers will attest to the fact that it has been difficult to find suitable days with low wind speeds so that they can spray for weeds.

Many climate stations have already reported six days this June with temperatures in the 90s F, and several overnight low temperatures that remained in the 70s F. Of course, being Minnesota there are a few places in the northeastern part of the state that still reported frost last Saturday and Sunday, but most places have seen warm overnight low temperatures recently. Through the first 18 days of the month many communities have seen an average June temperature that ranges from 4 to 7 degrees F warmer than normal, and for the Twin Cities this June ranks so far among the warmest 10 percent historically.

The windiness continues to be remarkable for the month, though it has abated somewhat in the north. Many days have seen an average wind speed of 15 mph or greater, while most days have brought maximum wind gusts over 30 mph. The list below shows the number of days with wind gusts of 30 mph or greater:

MSP 17 days

Redwood Falls 14 days

St Cloud 13 days

Mankato 12 days

Rochester 12 days

Duluth 9 days

International Falls 9 days

As for rainfall, the month has been excessively wet in the far northwest and in the southeast, but drier than normal elsewhere. Thunderstorms brought some heavy rains on Thursday of this week (June 18) to portions of west-central Minnesota where Granite Falls, Sacred Heart, and Clara City reported 2-3 inches of rain. Also, over 2 inches fell near Marshall and Worthington. Forecast models suggest more rain may fall over the weekend and early next week as well.

New Seasonal Climate Outlook:

The NOAA-Climate Prediction Center released a new seasonal outlook on Thursday of this week. For the balance of the growing season (July-September) they suggest warmer than normal temperatures across Minnesota. The also suggest that for southern Minnesota the weather pattern will favor above normal rainfall as well. The rest of the state has equal chances for above or below normal rainfall.

Weekly Weather Potpourri:

The summer solstice (longest day of the year) for the Northern Hemisphere will occur at 5:44 pm on Saturday (June 20) when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. For Minnesota this means that our daylength on Saturday will range from 15.5 hours to over 16 hours in the far north. This time of year the maximum daily temperature usually occurs between 4 pm and 6 pm. Brian Donegan of the Weather Underground has written a nice review article about the solstice.

An interesting article in this week’s AGU-EOS discusses the opportunity for a “Green Recovery” as the economy of many nations slowly recovers from the pandemic lockdown. Some countries are considering measures to reduce fossil fuel dependence and keep overall emission scenarios lower as they restart economic activities.

Both the NOAA-National Weather Service Chanhassen, MN Office and the DNR-Minnesota State ClimatologyOffice have featured reviews of the famous June 17, 2010 tornado outbreak on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary this week. This outbreak produced 48 confirmed tornadoes in Minnesota that day, Three of those storms were classified EF-4 (166-200 mph) including one which damaged the Wadena High School.

According to National Weather Service Forecasts Death Valley in California is supposed to reach 120°F again next week. This would be the third time so far this year for the climate station that often reports the highest temperature in the USA.

MPR listener question:

I am a big fan, first email. I never miss Weather Commentary on Friday mornings. In fact every week I dance a manic little improvised jig to the theme music! Thanks for your steadiness at this terrible time. It’s precious to us. Here in the Cities, we hit 90 degrees on the first two days of meteorological summer (June). Is that a first? If not, how rare is it?

Answer:

Thanks for your kind words. You are correct that it is rare. In 147 years of daily climate record keeping (back to 1873) in the Twin Cities the first two days of June have registered 90 degrees F or greater only 3 time: 1923, 1934, and 2020.

Twin Cities Almanac for June 19th:

The average MSP high temperature for this date is 80 degrees F (plus or minus 8 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 60 degrees F (plus or minus 7 degrees F standard deviation).

MSP Local Records for June 19th:

MSP records for this date include: highest daily maximum temperature of 100 degrees F in 1933; lowest daily maximum temperature of 56 degrees F in 1946; lowest daily minimum temperature of 41 degrees F in 1950; highest daily minimum temperature of 75 degrees F in 1933; record precipitation of 4.13 inches in 2014. No snowfall has been reported on this date.

Average dew point for June 19th is 55°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 76°F in 1953; and the minimum dew point on this date is 31°F in 1992.

All-time state records for June 19th:

The state record high temperature for this date is 108 degrees F at Beardsley (Big Stone County) in 1933. The state record low temperature for this date is 26 degrees F at Kelliher (Beltrami County) in 2001. The state record precipitation for this date is 5.13 inches at Moorhead (Clay County) in 2000. No snowfall has been reported on this date.

Past Weather Features:

The hottest June 19th in state history was in 1933. Nearly every community in the state except Grand Marais reported an afternoon temperature in the 90s F or greater. Over 20 communities saw the mercury thermometer hit the century mark and at Morris the overnight low temperature only fell to 81°F.

Over the night of June 19-20, 2000, a series of super-cell thunderstorms passed over portions of eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Climate stations in Polk and Clay Counties reported 3-6 inches of rain, while the Fargo-Moorhead area reported over 7 inches in just 7 hours. Over half of the area roads and highways were flooded and the Fargodome filled with 8 feet of water. It was one of the worst flash floods in history for that area of the Red River Valley. Moorhead reported 12.55 inches of rain for the month of June.

Outlook:

Somewhat cooler over the weekend with temperatures closer to normal. Partly to mostly cloudy skies will prevail with a chance for showers or thunderstorms each day through the weekend and including Monday and Tuesday. Then a bit drier with near normal seasonal temperatures later next week.