Hot Start to July, with Rain and a Brief Cool Respite:
July followed the temperature pattern of June, starting out hot, then offering a brief cool respite. The July 4th weekend brought temperatures of 95°F or greater to 34 communities around the state, topping out at 99°F at Granite Falls, a new daily record there. A few other northern Minnesota climate stations reported record daily high temperature on July 4th as well, including 98°F at Itasca State Park, 94°F at Cass Lake, 93°F at Gunflint Lake, and 90°F at Tower. Grand Marais along Lake Superior reported a high of only 78°F. With some moderation this week temperatures for the first full week of July averaged from 2 to 4 degrees F warmer than normal.
July 5-6 brought some much-needed rain to the state with cooler temperatures. Many areas reported between a half inch and an inch of rainfall, as several bands of showers and thunderstorms crossed the state. Much of northwestern Minnesota missed out on the rain, while portions of Winona, Wabasha, and McLeod Counties reported over 2 inches. In fact Wabasha reported a new record daily rainfall of 2.12 inches on the morning of July 7th. Overall, the lighter amounts of rainfall across the state were not enough to slow the development of the summer drought. The US Drought Monitor this week shows that close to 93 percent of the state is in at least Moderate Drought, while nearly 40 percent of the state is in Severe Drought (affecting portions of 45 Counties, mostly in the western half of Minnesota). More and more Minnesota crops are reported to be in only poor to fair condition as a result of this continuing pattern.
The cool temperatures over July 7 and 8 brought some record lows. A few of these were:
33°F at Cotton
34°F at Hibbing
35°F at Floodwood
44°F at Mora
A few additional climate stations reported lows in the 30s F on Friday morning (July 9th) but not record-setting values. In addition, a number of climate stations reported daytime highs only in the 60s F on July 8th. However, the cooler temperatures will just be a brief pattern, as most of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center models suggest that the rest of the month will be warmer and drier than normal.
Weekly Weather Potpourri:
This week, the BBC Weather Center took a more detailed look at the recent Heat Wave and Wildfires in Western Canada. There is definitely a link between the two, with an amplified probability due to climate change.
Tropical Storm Elsa dropped abundant rainfall over portions of the Florida Gulf Coast this week. Areas around Naples, Fort Myers reported over 5 inches, while further north around Port Charlotte and Northport reported 8-10 inches with some flash flooding. More details about TS Elsa can be found on the web at the Weather Channel.
A recent paper in the journal Nature Food written by MIT scientists describes a new seed coating technology that protects crop seeds from drought during their germination phase, and also provides added nutrient value. This may be highly beneficial to ensuring the success of seeding crops in normally arid lands or in unusually dry soils before Spring rains arrive.
MPR listener question:
We heard you say last week that June of this year was the 2nd warmest on record for Minnesota. How did it rank for our neighboring states?
Answer:
Good question. Based on the preliminary climate data, I found the following:
Wisconsin 2nd warmest
North Dakota 3rd warmest
South Dakota 5th warmest
Iowa 7th warmest
And further west, it looks like Nebraska 2nd warmest
Twin Cities Almanac for July 9th:
The average MSP high temperature for this date is 84 degrees F (plus or minus 7 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 64 degrees F (plus or minus 6 degrees F standard deviation).
MSP Local Records for July 9th:
MSP records for this date include: highest daily maximum temperature of 99 degrees F in 1976; lowest daily maximum temperature of 67 degrees F in 1873; lowest daily minimum temperature of 48 degrees F in 1895; highest daily minimum temperature of 82 degrees F in 1936; record precipitation of 2.55 inches in 2000. No snowfall has occurred on this date.
Average dew point for July 9th is 60°F; the maximum dew point on this date is 75°F in 1989; and the minimum dew point on this date is 36 degrees F in 2001.
All-time state records for July 9th:
The state record high temperature for this date is 110 degrees F at Beardsley (Big Stone County) in 1936. The state record low temperature for this date is 30 degrees F at Tower (St Louis County) in 1900. The state record precipitation for this date is 6.00 inches at Forest City (Meeker County) in 1858. No snowfall on this date.
Past Weather Features:
By far the warmest July 9th in state history was in 1936 when over 30 communities reported afternoon high temperatures of 100°F or greater. Overnight lows in both the Twin Cities and
Winona never dropped below 80°F.
July 9, 1977 brought a cool morning to northern Minnesota communities, with portions of Roseau, Lake of the Woods, St Louis, and Crow Wing Counties reporting temperatures in the 30s F.
Strong thunderstorms moved south to north over eastern Minnesota on July 9, 2000 dropping 2 to 4 inches of rainfall and some hail. Hinckley reported over 4 inches of rain.
Outlook:
The weekend will start out slightly cooler than normal, then warm up to near normal by Sunday. Continued warming next week with a chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms for Tuesday through Thursday. Daytime highs will reach the upper 80s to low 90s F by next weekend.
Comments