Very warm to Very hot next couple of days, little chances at rain through Wednesday then chances for thunderstorms Wed night, Thurs, and Fri, also cooling down by Friday.C

Regional Weather View

A dry very hot weather pattern is back in the Upper Midwest for the rest of this week. Hottest temperatures will be in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois, which will be in the string with highs in the middle to upper 90s for about 4 days in a row. Further north it will not be much cooler Southern South Dakota, Southern Minnesota and Southern Wisconsin will have highs ranging and be in the upper 80s to mid 90s the next 4 days. Across the north, North Dakota, Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin will have the coolest temps, highs will be ranging from the mid 80s to the upper 80s. There will be little chances for rain accept around the cold front. Chances of severe weather are low.

Local and Metro views.

Locally we can expect just a hot, humid, sunny and dry next few days. Every day will feature sunshine, very warm to hot temps, and elevated heat index values in the upper 90s some days. Monday will have highs in the low to mid 90s, with mid 90s being most dominant in river valley cities and urban Rochester Heat index values will be in the upper 90s. Lows Monday will be in the mid to upper 60s. Tuesday will be a bit cooler because of north winds from a passing cool front but not be by much. Highs will be in the upper 80s to 90, heat index values will be around 90. Lows Tuesday will be in the mid to upper 60s. Wednesday will warm back up with highs in the lower to mid 90s, heat index values will be in the upper 90s. Lows will be in the low 70s.

Chance of Thunderstorms Wednesday Night, Thurs & Friday

There is a slight chance of rain this week on Wednesday Night with a passing cool front. The best chance will be overnight Wednesday into the early part of Thursday. Rainfall amounts will be fairly localized, not all areas will see rain  and should not amount to much. The second part of Thursday will likely even return to sunshine Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s and lows in the mid 60s Thursday. Fridays there is another chance of rain, which will increase mostly at night. Expect the chance for thunderstorms Friday Night. It will be sunny during the day with highs in the mid 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Severe weather is not expected with any of the storms becuase the chance is low.

Monday, Sunny & Very Hot! Light winds with Highs in the low to mid 90s. Heat index values in the upper 90s. Monday Night, Clear skies, lows in the mid to upper 60s

Tuesday, Sunny & Hot. Highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Tuesday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid to upper 60s

Wednesday, Sunny & Very Hot! Light winds with highs in the low to mid 90s. Wednesday Night, A chance of isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the low to mid 70s

Thursday, A chance of thunderstorms early, then clearing skies. Highs in the mid to upper 80s. Thursday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid to upper 60s.

Friday, A small chance of thunderstorms, otherwise sunny with highs in the mid 80s. Friday Night, A chance of thunderstorms, otherwise cloudy with lows in the upper 60s.

Looking Ahead

 Continuing into Saturday there will be an increasing likelihood for storms. The models shows an impressive weather system and front pushing across the Upper Midwest. Heat rain could be possible in southern Minnesota. It may have to be watched for severe weather threats. Sunday it dries out with highs in the 70s to 80. Monday it warms back up into the mid 80s. Then Tuesday August 7th a cold front sweeps through bringing a chance for storms. Wednesday, Cooler, sunny highs in the 70s to 80. Then for the rest of that week into the weekend, it turns hot with highs approaching 90 for several days. There is a chance for rain every few days during this time. It remains hot through the 17th of August with off and on threats for rain and storms. 

 

July 25th heat and high index values. Highs in the middle 90s reported with 100 degree heat index values..

Sunny conditions in Northern Rochester July 25th 2012.

After a 1 day break another very hot occurred across day across the local area which certainly has not been anything new lately. High temperatures topped out in the low to middle 90s once again. My station had a high of 95.F. Today like the past few have been more about dewpoints which were back in the lower 70s putting heat index values around and over 100.F at all areas. Our heat was the far northern extent of an extremely hot airmass that brought a record breaking heat wave that hit areas just to our south very hard for the past week week. Some of todays highs across other regions include Des Monies,IA 106.F Mason City,IA 99.F  Dubuque,IA 101.F La Crosse,WI 97.F  Madison,WI 98.F Chicago 101.F

Local temperatures. Highs/high heat index values. Official stations marked with *

All stations hit 90.F in our area, with the highest official temperature was 95.F which occurred at both Austin and Winona. The coolest official reading was Dodge Center at 90.F. In Rochester Downtown had highs around 95.F while our official airport had a high of 92.F.

One last day of very hot condtions Highs Wed middle to upper 90s with heat index values 100-105.F, then a threat for storms with a cold front with temps cooling down to the lower 80s by Friday Coolest daytime highs in weeks! Updated X2

Regional Weather View.

Extensive heat continues to bake Iowa in 100+ degree heat this week and now it will expand east. A very significant and expansive heat wave will continue to effect much of the region. This has become the worst heat wave to impact the central part of the region in many years. A very hot high pressure system continues to be located in the Central U.S. Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois will all be feeling the extreme heat with multiple days hitting 100.F with a few spots around 110.F degrees. Future north it will be very hot, although not nearly as hot as just to the south. Southern Minnesota, South Dakota and Southern Wisconsin with highs typically around 90 to near 100.F during the extent of this heat wave. Future north and north of a frontal boundry temperatures will be much more comfortable in the middle 80s to low 90s. Finally a sharp cold front will cool down the entire region on Friday bringing in a serge of much needed relief. The front will spark a few thunderstorms in its wake and some areas may deal with the threat of severe weather with the passing of this front.

                                                             

Local and Metro Views

One last day of very hot conditions!

Wednesday we turn up the heat again for the area, but thankfully this will be the last day of very hot conditions at least for a little while.  Wednesdays temperatures depend on cloud cover and rain chances but under a sunny sky situation  highs will range from near 90.F degrees across the north, to around 97.F and even approaching 100.F near the Iowa Boarder and River Valley cities in the southeast. Urban Rochester area will have highs around 96.F with the airport probably staying around 92.F Tomorrow will again be more about the humidity becuase heat index values no matter where you are will will likely be around 100 to 105.F

Chances Thunderstorms Wednesday

Wednesday a cold front moving south could spark a few thunderstorms across the area during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms will probably be fairly isolated in nature. Some of the storms that do get going will have the chance to become severe but the chances is not high for this. The best chance for storms will occur across the north and not all areas will see rain.

Relief from the heat arrives Friday

Thursday will still be on the warm and humid side with a chance of thunderstorms early, highs will be in the upper 80s to around 90.F Then Friday things really cool down behind a sharp cold front. Daytime highs will be at their coolest levels of the month with highs falling to around 80 degrees. Lows will fall into the lower 60s with the potential for a few upper 50 degree readings. It will remain seasonal for the weekend with rainfall chances increasing again by Sunday

Wednesday, Sunny and Very Hot and Humid! with a chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Some could be severe. Highs in the mid to upper 90s- all areas. Wednesday Night. Clear skies lows in the low 70s to upper 60s.

Thursday,  Cooler but still Very warm and humid. A chance of thunderstorms early then sunny with highs in the middle to upper 80s Thursday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid to upper 60s.

Friday, Much cooler and pleasant. Sunny with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. Friday Night, Clear skies lows in the upper 50s to low 60s

Saturday, Sunny  and seasonably warm. Highs in the low to mid 80s. Saturday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid 60s.

Sunday, Sunny and seasonably warm. A small chance for thunderstorms late. Highs in the low to mid 80s. Sunday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid to upper 60s



Looking Ahead

By Monday it is already on the hot side again with highs probably near 90. The models keeps the chance of rain alive on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday looks sunny and hot. and Thursday the 2nd a cold front produces thunderstorms with heavy rains across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. For the the weekend of the 4th and 5th looks dry, warm and humid. For the week of the 6th the model continues to show a threat for rain every few days. Temperatures are appear to be warm even up to the 9th of August. So an overview of the extend forecast could be warm, with plenty of rain chances. It looks wetter then the past few months have been. Time will tell.

Beneficial rains across the area from morning thunderstorms. 2+ inches in some areas. Southern areas remained dry.

Morning thunderstorms July 24th 2012

Beneficial rains ranging from nearly 1 inch to 3 inches in some areas. The rain fell in thunderstorms that occurred over parts of the area this morning. The cause of the much welcomed rain was a frontal boundary that was draped over our area all over yesterday which brought very high dewpoints. Rain first developed in central Minnesota and moved southeast along the front. Making it into our area during the very early morning hours of the 24th. Here in Rochester it was nearly constant thunderstorms from 2am until 10am. We ended out with a rainfall total of 2.38" in our backyard.

Radar image of rainfall totals from July 24th rain

The rain that fell stayed in a fairly narrow corridor that followed along and east of the highway 52 corridor. Areas in such as Kenyon down to Mantorville, Zumbrota, The Rochester Metro southeast to Eyota and Rushford had the most rainfall. Areas to the south did not see any rain which is unfortunately some of the areas that need rain most. Far northern areas also saw little rain.

Rainfall Totals

 St Charles 3.00"

Northern Rochester 2.75"

Cannon Falls 2.53"

Mantorville 2.47"

Elgin 2.44" 


West Downtown Rochester ( My Station) 2.38"


Rochester Airport 1.80"

Lanesbro 1.05"

Dodge Center 1.00"

Red Wing 0.75"

Preston 0.97" 

Kellogg 0.67" 

Spring Valley 0.27"

Austin 0.05"

Very hot temperatures and extreame heat index values well into the 100s seen today. Dewpoints in the lower 80s reported.

 Banana plant July 22nd 2012

Today was not about the temperatures. It was all about the humidity! Dewpoints across parts of the area soared into the upper 70s to lower 80s across the region. The highest dewpoint in the area came from Dodge Center at 81.F, This type of dewpoint is not common for Minnesota, you would more expect to find dewpoints of this magnitude in Florida or a tropical area! The dewpoints as high as they were today made the heat index values, or what it feels like were much warmer then actual air temperatures 100 to 105.F was a common heat index. Air temperatures outside of the Rochester residential areas ranged from 91.F to 95.F in the north for Cannon Falls, Red Wing and Winona where cloud cover was not as wide spread. Highs from 88.F to 90.F were seen across the south where clouds held on the longest. Our area may be consider "cool" compared to what areas just south of our local area dealt. Areas just south of the boarder into Iowa which is under the full influence of this record breaking airmass has highs in the100s today. Mason City,IA topped out at 99.F and Waterloo topped out at 103.F. Iowa's state capital had a record high of 105.F today.

This year has been a hot year for Southern Minnesota. I thought it would be nice to include a few updates as far as where we are for number of 90 degree days. I will include data for my station as well as the official airport.

2012 "hot temperatures" Data- So far


 West Downtown-My Station

Number of 90 degree days 29

Number of 100 degree days 2

Highest Daytime High 102.F July 6th

Rochester Airport

Number of 90.F degree days 15


Number of 100 degree days 0

Highest Temperature 96.F July 6th 

Local highs/highest heat index values.

Official stations are marked with ( * ) Highs in the local area ranged from 88.F in the more cooler cloud covered areas of Mower County to 95.F at Winona. The highest heat index was 105.F at Dodge Center. In the Rochester Metro heat island effected stations near Downtown has highs of 96.F. However as you move away from Downtown areas into the outer suburban areas, highs here were closer the lower 90s.

Tonight Severe Weather Risk

Image from SPC

A Slight Risk Has been issued by the SPC for parts of the Upper Midwest in Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as Northern Iowa. A stationary front located near the Minnesota Iowa boarder will be the focus for thunderstorm developing late today into the overnight hours of tonight. With unstable air in place some of these storms could turn severe. The highest risks include large hail, damaging winds and very heavy rain. There is an outside chance for a tornado. Stay tuned to the NWS or other outlet weather services should severe weather develop.

July 18th Severe Storms. High winds and hail impacting west and wouth parts of the area,

Severe storms with high winds and large hail impacted parts of the area Wednesday July 18th. The areas most impacted were Dodge, Mower and Fillmore counties. The cause of the storms was an eastward moving boundary into a very warm unstable airmass. A cell that developed in Central Dodge County near Dodge Center quickly became severe and pushed southeast into southern parts of the county. The first reported severe weather was from the  Hayfield area reported hail to the size of 1.50" This is the second time this month Hayfield was hit with a significant storm. The storm continued pushing southeast into Mower and Fillmore counties, where it turned mainly into a high wind event. Wind damage was reported around Spring Valley with multiple trees down as well as minor structural damage from wind. The storm continued enveloping southeast into Iowa where it turned into a very severe wind producing squall line. On a brighter note. Severe drought stricken areas in the south received around 0.50 to 1.00" of rain from this same storm.

Severe Storm Reports

Hayfield 1.50" Hail

Spring Valley Tree branches down. Damage to park pavilion and apartment building.  

Other Reports

Dexter 0.88" hail

1 mile W Grand Meadow 50MPH gust

1 mile S Racine 50MPH with  0.50" hail


Preston Airport 49MPH wind gust


Harmony 53MPH wind gust.

Extreame Heat returns to the area heading our way for Monday Highs approaching the upper 90s to 100.F Monday and Tuesday with heat index values around 110.F next 3 days. Tuesday is our next chance for rain.

Regional Weather View.

Extreme heat which is becoming the fairly common wording in Upper Midwestern forecasts this summer is heading back to the region to end out this week and to start off next week. Record heat is possible with Highs approaching or hitting 100.F is expected to be widespread across South Dakota, Southern Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, which is a rarity in areas this far north. Scattered thunderstorms are possible near the  cold front as it moves south on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Local and Metro views.

We can expect a very hot and dry ending to the weekend and to start off the next work week as an extremely hot air mass in the west slides in from the west Sunday. For the next 3 days high temperatures will be above 90.F. Sunday in our local area will feature sunny skies and it will be humid. High temperatures will be in the low to middle 90s with heat index values in the middle to upper 90s. Lows will be in the middle to upper 70s

Short lived Extreme Heat Expected Monday/Tuesday

The heat really peaks off Monday and Tuesday in our local area as the very hot and humid air mass settles into our region. This will be the type of airmass where airmass makes little difference on how it feels becuase heat index values will be between 99 and 110.F during the day and barely got below 80.F at night. Air temperatures under sunny skies temperatures will soar well into the 90s with widespread upper 90s  likely and a few isolated areas/hot spots hitting 100.F Areas with the best chance of hitting 100.F will be river valley cities like Red Wing and Winona as well as the urban and Downtown areas of Rochester. Tuesday may be slightly cooler but highs will still be around 95, nearing 100.F Lows both nights will be 75 to 80.F. This extreme heat will be a short lived but it should still be taken seriously becuase heat of this magnitude can be dangerous.

Small threat for rain Tuesday

Tuesday night a cold front will slide across the region producing the chance for scattered thunderstorms in our local area. This chance at rainfall is not extremely high at this time and not all areas will get wet. Amounts will range to around 0.25" with possible higher amounts. Temps will cool off only slightly behind this front as skies become sunny again and things dry out, highs will be around 85.F

Sunday, Very Hot! and very humid. Heat index values approaching 100.F Sunny skies. Highs in the lower 90s to mid 90s urban Rochester. Sunday Night, Clear skies, lows in the middle 70s.

Monday, Extreme Heat! and humid. Heat index values approaching 110.F Sunny skies with southwesterly winds around 25MPH. Highs in the upper 90s to lower 100s. Monday Night, Clear skies lows in the mid to upper 70s.

Tuesday, Extreme Heat! and humid. A chance for thunderstorms late. Heat index values approaching 105.F Sunny skies with highs in the mid to upper 90s.  Tuesday Night, a chance of thunderstorms, otherwise partly cloudy with lows in the upper 60s to lower 70s.

Wednesday, Sunny and very warm. Highs in the mid to upper 80s. Wednesday Night, partly cloudy lows in the mid to upper 60s.

Thursday, Sunny and very warm. Highs in the upper 80s. Thursday Night, clear skies, lows near 70.F

Looking Ahead

It doesn't stay "cool" for long if you can call it cool. Already by next weekend we will be dealing with highs back into the lower to middle 90s Friday and again late Saturday into Sunday may offer a chance for rain for us. Then Tuesday July 24th the model brings in a fairly strong cold front bringing the chance for rain, possibly heavy? then cooling us down and drying us out for the weekend of July 27th After this date, heat builds back west once again. And the threat for rain every few days remains.

Strong to Severe storms effect parts of the area. High Winds, Hail, Heavy Rains/minor flooding.

Rainfall Friday Morning- Rochester July 13th

Strong to severe storms effected the area today. Hail, High winds and heavy rains causing flooding were all the main effects with these storms. The cause of the storms were from several boundries throughout the area. After things became unstable with afternoon sun the boundries were all that was needed for storms formed on these boundries. Some of the storms developed and became severe. The strongest storms produced 60MPH winds in Southern Dodge County at Hayfield. Another cluster of storms effected Goodhue, Olmstead and Mower Counties. In the Rochester metro area, heavy rain, gusty winds and a little bit of small hail was seen. Rochester Northwest side has wind reports of 50MPH with winds slowing down to 21MPH at the Downtown wind station. At my station for rainfall 0.76" of very benefical rain fell at my station brining the dayily total from morning storms to 1.02" breaking a 22 day in a row dry streak. Several other areas also reviced benefical rains including drought stricken areas in the southern part of the area. In some cases rainfall was even excessive. Southern Dodge county reported minor flooding with radar estimates coming in around 3 inches between Hayfield and Kasson. The highest reported rain ammounts was Hayfield at 1.30"

Storm Reports

Severe reports

Hayfield 60MPH

Hayfield Heavy Rain 1.30" minor flooding in southern Dodge county.

Other reports

Northwest Rochester 50MPH wind gust.

West Downtown Rochester pea sized hail

Claremont pea sized hail

Kasson pea sized hail

Plenty of sun. Very warm and dry week ahead turning hot in the 90s by midweek. No rain chances anytime soon.

Regional weather view.

A very quiet week in the Upper Midwest as a high pressure system takes control of the weather, there will be very little chances for rain. Temperatures will start off near seasonable but they will increase a the week goes on and it likely turning hot by mid week, but not nearly as hot as least weeks extreme heat wave.

Local and metro views.

Locally it we are staring right into a very dry and very warm week ahead. Unfortunately there is no rain in sight at this time as a large area of high pressure will give us at least 5 days or so of sunny weather. We can expect everyday to have sunshine and near seasonable temperatures with starting off in the low to mid 80s and lows in the mid 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday, then Thursday we will go back into kind of a hot spell, although not nearly as hot as last week heat wave it is likely temperatures will rise to the middle to upper 80s, with some 90s appearing in inner city Rochester and hot spots. Lows will be in the middle to upper 60s. It look like after we enter this hot spell to remain very warm to hot through next weekend.




Monday, Sunny and warm. Light winds with highs in the lower to middle 80s. Monday Night, Clear skies lows in the lower to middle 60s.

Tuesday, Sunny and warm. Light winds with highs in the lower to middle 80s. Tuesday Night, Clear skies lows in the lower to middle 60s.

Wednesday, Sunny and very warm. Light winds with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Wednesday Night, Clear skies, lows in the middle to upper 60s 

Thursday, Sunny and hot, light winds, highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Thursday Night, Clear skies lows in the lower to middle 60s.

Friday, Sunny and hot, light winds, highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Friday Night, Clear skies lows in the lower to middle 60s.

Looking Ahead

Looking into the weekend  Saturday and Sunday look dry and partly cloudy and very warm to hot temps. Highs will probably be close to 90. Our next decent chance of rain will be Monday July 16th as cold front passes through and a weather system passes through Minnesota. It turns drier and hot again by Wednesday the 18th and remains fairly dry and hot through Monday the 23rd of July.

June 30th to July 6th Sigificant Heat Wave Report. Records broken with a very long streach of 90+ degree weather peaking out into triple digit numbers July 4th and Friday July 6th! Longest heat wave in years.

Image from Weather.com

A significant and long lasting heat wave effected the area this week from June 30th through independence day to July 6th. The cause of the long stretch of hot weather was a large ridge of hot high pressure which pushed a huge very dry and extreamlly hot temperatures across the entire central and eastern half of the country. Nearly every central and eastern U.S state had at least one city hit 100 degrees in this heat wave.

Hot red glowing sunset Rochester,MN July 2nd 2012

Locally this heat wave was a significant one and one for the record books at Rochester airport. This heat wave was the worst one in a number of years according to many as we sweltered in heat for a week. It was certainly the warmest and longest I've delt with. From June 30th through July 6th every day was above 90.F in all areas and a couple days were in the upper 90s to lower 100s, with heat index values every day in all areas well into the 100 degree range, as dew points straddled each day from the low 70s to nearly 80.F! 2 of our official stations, Red Wing and Winona went above 100.F 2 of the days, This is the first time in many years that a heat wave has brought more then 1 day of 100 degree temperatures. At my location all days were well into the 90s and 2 of the days ended up being at or above 100., July 4th the high was 100.F,  but the warmest high temperature was 102.F on July 6th. This is the warmest temperature that I've experienced personally, before that it was 100.F in my hometown in NW Wisconsin which occurred in June of last year. I felt all 102 degrees of it and takes a toll fast. There was no relief at night either the warmest low at my station was 80.F on July 4th and again July 6th. During the evening of July 5th before I went to bed at 11:30pm the temperature was still 86.F which was stunning to be becuase I have not seen heat last this long into the night before. Effects of the very high temperatures caused power companies across some areas to ask residents to keep power usage to a minimal during the height of the afternoon hours. You could also see the effects of very warm temps and lack of rain taking a toll in our landscaping most people have had to water plants every day just to keep them from wilting. Unwatered lawns have been completely parched espesscailly in sites with poor soil and lots of sun. Corn crops are started to wilt from lack of rain and very high temperatures.

Highs temps reported in the heat wave/highest heat index values.

The highest official temperature during this heat wave came from Winona and Red Wing which both reported extreme heat of 102.F with heat index values of 109 and 111! I found it rather interesting that northerly stations were the warmest throughout the area. My theory in why these areas are warmer is because there river valley cities in low warm valleys. In the Rochester Metro area Downtown heat island effected weather stations were between 99 to 102.F. My station was 102.F. This brings the yearly total days at 90 or above to 18 and the days at or above 100 to 2 days. Officially the highest temperature at our cities official weather station at Rochester International Airport was 96.F and no 100s occurred. The records that occurred at the airport were several daily low temperature records. The difference in temps between Downtown and the Airport has been an ongoing study for me but theory on why Downtown areas of Rochester are so much warmer then the airport is because of how the city also sits in a river Vally but it is also becuase of the high concentration of large buildings and concrete forming a heat island effect. I did call NWS officials at both at Chanhassen and La Crosse and they confirmed the same theory on why there is a difference.

Dangerous long lived Heat Wave Expected All time highest records in jepordy with highs in the lower to middle 100s Heat Index Values between 110 and 115.F

Regional Weather View.

The top story in the Upper Midwest continues to be an ongoing dangerous heat wave! A very stubborn high pressure seen south of where it is shown will continue to create a long live heat wave for the entire region. triple digits heat  is expected for the next few days for cities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northern Iowa and South Dakota, While Southern Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois will be baked with the same heat going over 100.F for this same time frame. Very little rain will be seen across the region with only a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms neat the warm front.

 Local and Metro view with a Independence Day Theme

Dangerous long lived heat wave likely! Triple digit heat over the next few days, Record highs likely!

The area will be under the influence of a full fledged and dangerous long lived heat wave for the rest of the week. We can expect Every day will feature sunny skies with hot to very hot/very humid conditions! We can expected high temperatures to be at or above triple digit levels with low to mid 100s for the next 6 days with urban areas of Rochester seeing highs above 101.F every day and having the chance to see highs around 105.F on Thursday The highest all time record for Rochester Airport is 105.F, we will see temperatures approach value. Finally,  With dew points expected in the upper 70s we can expect extreme heat index values will be between 110 and 120 each day. There will little relief at night as lows stay around 75.F. People should be aware this is a dangerous and life threatening heat wave if not taken seriously! Prepare yourselves for an usually long lived time frame of hot weather. Heat like what is expected can be dangerous if not taken seriously and people in our area are not used to be prone to heat this long lasting. Drink plenty of water, Try to wear light colors, Be in shade or stay in air conditioning as much as possible.

4th of July Weather!

  For the Independence Day Holiday Expect it to be hot, humid and sunny with highs in the lower to middle 100s and heat index values around 110 to 115. It could be dry for fireworks with lows in the mid to upper 70s! Have a great holiday!


Tuesday, Extreme Heat! Sunny and Humid! Highs in the upper 90s to low 100s Urbanized Rochester. Heat Index Values around 110 to 115.F Tuesday Night, Clear Skies, Hot, Lows in the mid to upper 70s

Independence Day! Extreme Heat! All time record highs possible, Sunny and Humid! Highs  in the low 100s to middle 100s Urbanized Rochester. Heat Index Values between 110-115.F Wednesday Night, Clear Skies, Hot! Lows in the mid to upper 70s

Thursday,Extreme Heat! All time record highs possible Sunny and Humid! Highs in the low to middle 100s with middle 100s Urbanized Rochester. Heat Index Values around 110 to 115.F Thursday Night, Clear Skies, Hot, Lows in the mid to upper 70s.

Friday, Extreme Heat! Sunny and humid with highs approaching 100.F Heat index values around 110 to 115.F Friday Night, Clear skies, Hot lows in the mid to upper 70s.

Looking Ahead

Saturday a cool front passes cooling it down and bringing the chance for thunderstorms. Sunday looks sunny and seasonable. Then around Tuesday the 10th the models begin to turn things active with the possible threat for heavy rains. It remains stormy and cooler through Saturday the 14th, with the threat for rain every couple days or so. Towards the end of the model run it begins to build heat again to the west, and it turns things drier and warmer for us. 

Threat of severe weather today.

Image from SPC

The SPC has issued a Slight Risk for Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as Northeast Iowa. This includes most of the local area. To view the SPC Discussion go HERE 

Local Discussion, A warm front that will bring even more heat and humidity into our region will move through the area today. Thunderstorms could develop along the warm front but the question is when will they form and how strong will they become. Some models show the threat of severe weather isolated and quite low today, while others develop a line of storms in Northern Iowa and move them Northeast effecting most of the local area, which has to be considered for possibly happening. If storms develop and the right conditions come together, we can expect the main threats to be high winds, heavy rain, large and at as the storms 1st develop tornados. Residents should keep in mind there is a severe weather risk today! Stay near a weather radio or other outlet at all times!