Multiple threats for severe storms Satruday through Sunday! Heavy rain also a possbility. Before storms Sunday very/humid weather expected mid 90s with 100+ heat index values!

Regional Weather View.

Lots of types of weather becoming big stories  in the Upper Midwest this weekend. The main one will be the threat of severe storms Saturday and Sunday with a warm front/cold front combination. Satrudays threat will be with the warm front in Wisconsin, Northern Iowa and Minnesota. Sunday the severe weather threat will rake across Minnesota, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin again before ending. Heavy rainfall is a possibility especially places in Minnesota that do not need the heavy rainfall. Sunday will likely be the hottest day of the year for many locations as mid 90s are likely across much of Southern Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin south of a warm front. High dewpoints will lead to 100+ value heat indexs.

Local and Metro views.

Saturdays Severe Weather Threat

Locally we will be in some of the brunt of the multiple weather stories expected for the long holiday weekend. First a warm front that will bring very hot weather Sunday will be working through will bring thunderstorms in the early part of Saturday. Some of these storms could be severe mainly with strong winds and heavy rain. The threat for rain will decrease after 2pm then rest of Saturday will be cloudy and humid with highs in the 70s and lows remaining near 70.

Very Hot Sunday 95.F temps 100+ heat index values!

Sunday a very hot and humid airmass will be in place. Under sunny skies with strong south winds gusting to 35MPH high temperatures will reach the their warmest levels of the season hitting the middle 90s. It is possible some spots may reach the upper 90s especially in cities and general hot spots.  With temps expected to be this high with dewpoints very rich and sticky in the mid 60s to near 70 will cause heat index values to raise to near 100.F or higher. Heat realated stress can occur with tempetures this high. Residents should remember to stay cool in these types of conditions

Sundays Severe Weather Threat

Sunday has the highest threat  of seeing severe storms as a cold front plows into the hot humid airmass that will be in place. Thunderstorms are expected to break out across Southwestern Minnesota and moved east across the entire southern part of the state, likely reaching our area near dusk or after dark. Damaging winds, tornadoes, large hail and Torrential downpours will all be a possibility with these storms. Rainfall ammounts for the weekend total could exceed 1.50" in some areas. Satruday and Sunday will be both days to keep a weather radio handy. Monday after a threat of showers and thunderstorms early it will begin to calm down weather wise and cool off Highs will be in the upper 70s Monday with lows in the mid 50s, by Tuesday we can expect sunny breezy cool conditions with highs in the 60s and lows slipping into the upper 40s.

Saturday, Humid, Showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Some could be severe and produce heavy rain. Highs in the upper 70s. Saturday Night, Cloudy and humid with lows in the low 70s

Sunday, Hot and very humid! Sunny with highs in the middle to upper 90s. Heat Index Values around 100. South winds gusting to 35MPH. Sunday Night Thunderstorms, Some could be severe and produce torrential downpours. Lows in the upper 60s.

Monday, A chance of showers and thunderstorms early then partly cloudy with highs in the upper 70s. Monday Night, Clear skies lows in the low 50s.

Tuesday, Cool and breezy. Sunny with highs in the upper 60s. Winds gusting to 35MPH Tuesday Night, Clear skies and chilly, lows in the upper 40s.

Looking Ahead

   The weather looks drier and more seasonable for the middle part of this week. It looks typical for early June with dry sunny weather and highs in the 70s. Heat and humidity slowly increase until it becomes very hot by Monday the 4th of June ahead of a cold front that brings a chance of thunderstorms by Wednesday June 6th. After the a frontal system separating summer heat and cooler temps remain over the area meaning that there will be several chances and thunderstorms from the 7th through the 10th. and temps will be up and down with some days being hot humid and stormy while others will be cooler and more seasonable and rather cloudy. There could be several threats of severe storms and heavy rains during this time as well. We stay in the pattern through the 11th of June. 

Severe storms hit Winona and Fillmore counties hard. Widespread tree damage reported in Winona. Also Hot and very windy Wednesday ahead of front wind gusts over 50MPH reported!

Torrential downpour from a afternoon an afternoon strong storm May 24th 2012

Strong to severe storms swept through the area today as a stationary front got its act together and finally pushed east. Thunderstorms formed along this front along I-35 and slowly gained in strength as they moved east. After producing heavy downpours and gusty winds through communities west of and along highway 52 including in Rochester, they became severe and produced very high winds and widespread significant tree damage in Fillmore and Winona counties. A gust of 64MPH was reported in Harmony, and trees and powerlines were down in Fountain. Some of the worst damage done in the area was around and in the city of Winona. Strong winds down trees throughout the city. Powerouteges were reported in Goodview a Winona Suburb.

Radar image as storms approached Winona

This is a radar image taken from NWS La Cross as the storm pushed into the city of Winona. Notice a nice but un defined edge bowing area on the storm

Reports

Winona Widespread Tree Damage

Goodview, Trees down Power Outages.

Harmony, 64MPH wind gust Trees Down

Fountain Trees and powerlines down on Main St


Wednesdays Hot weather and strong S winds. 
 

 Significant blowing dust near Hayfield May 23rd 2012

The passing of a warm front and s strong low pressure system to our north with a tight gradient set us up for a hot and hot and very windy Wednesday! The wind was a hot, dry and very strong out of the South all day. It especially became strong in the afternoon when they were gusting across the Southern Minnesota Plain from 45 to 50MPH. The wind made driving difficult and causing minor problems such as breaking tree limbs and loose items blowing around. Significant blowing dust was a problem as well as dry conditions and Freshly plowed fields was allowing the winds to pick up the soil and blow it into the air. I personally was driving west during the day and I've never seen soil being picked up like this off fields it was a neat thing to see. In some cases the dust was blowing so bad that it was difficult to see where it was blinding views on roads at certain fields.

Highest wind gusts and temps.

The highest wind gust seen was in open areas near Zumbrota where a gust of 51MPH was reported. The least windiest area was Winona which recorded a 30MPH gust

Moderate risk for severe storms today! Tornados, High winds and large hail all a possiblity with the storms.

Image from SPC

The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Risk! for severe thunderstorms in Southeastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. This includes the entire local area! A stalled out stationery front over central Minnesota will move southeast and will be the focus for thunderstorm develop in the afternoon. These storms could quickly become severe and produce very high winds, large hail and heavy rain. Upper level winds also show an enhanced threat for tornadoes. People in the area should be very aware that there is a fairly high threat for severe weather this afternoon which could prove to be dangerous!

Severe weather threat for Thursday

Image from SPC

The SPC has issued a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms across parts of the Upper Midwest for Thursday. This includes most of the central and eastern part of the local area. A slow moving cold front will push through east. Thunderstorms are expected to develop along this front in the afternoon. Storms could become severe with large hail, gusting winds, along with a tornado threat. Heavy rainfall is also a possbility. Stay tuned to local weather sorces for Thursday!

Warm but nice Tuesday. Then increasingly very warm humid with threats of much needed rain Wed/Thurs.

Regional weather view.

A typical pattern more for June! Increasing heat and humidity will start to push in Tuesday ahead of a frontal system. Temps will warm to near 90.F across much of Iowa and Southern Minnesota. This will feed the threat for developing thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday. Heavy rain is possible in Central Minnesota where the light green lines are over 1 inch amounts are likely and some of the storms could be severe.

Local and Metro view.

We can expect one more nice, but warm windy day Tuesday before we can hopefully get in on some much needed rainfall in the form of Thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday. For Tuesday skies will be sunny with warm temps hitting the 80s. Winds could gust to 35MPH out of the south. Wednesday it will be turning very warm and humidity will begin to increase. Wednesday during the day will be warm and sunny with highs in the middle to upper 80s and lows in the 60s. Thunderstorms will develop in the afternoon to our west and could move in overnight a they weaken. A few of them could be strong before weakening. Thursday will have the best chance for rain. It will be warm and humid and windy with gust to 35MPH during the day with highs in the mid 80s and dewpoints in the 60s so it will feel sticky. Thunderstorms will develop in the afternoon and evening, a few of these could be strong maybe severe, but widespread severe weather is not expected. Thursday Night, will be the best chance of thunderstorms from storms in the evening, then it will be cloudy with lows in the middle 50s. widespread rainfall amounts are expected to be 0.25" but it is very possible there could be much higher amounts in heavier storms.

Tuesday, Sunny, warm and windy. South winds gusting to 35MPH at times. Highs in the low to mid 80s. Tuesday Night, Partly Cloudy lows in the low 60s.

Wednesday, Sunny, warm and windy. South winds gusting to 35MPH Highs  in the mid to upper 80s. Thunderstorms forming late in the day. Wednesday Night, A chance of thunderstorms some could be strong, otherwise cloudy with lows in the mid to upper 60s

Thursday, Sunny, warm, windy and humid. South winds gusting to 30MPH Thunderstorms developing in the late afternoon some could be strong. Thursday Night, Thunderstorms. Some could be strong. Lows in the mid 50s.

Friday, Mostly Cloudy and cooler. Highs in the mid 70s. Friday Night, A chance of showers late. Lows in the mid 50s.

Looking Ahead

The weekend looks warm and humid with a small chance of storms. Sunday looks especially warm with highs in the 90s. Monday a frontal system pulls through and thunderstorms break out. This front stalls out over Southern Minnesota for midweek, keeping warm humid conditions around as well as the threat for storms. Tuesday has the chance for heavy rainfall in the local area. Sunny warm and showery weather sticks around all the way through that week. Then Friday and Saturday June 1st/2nd a strong system pushes through Northern Iowa bringing heavy rains to the region. It dries out turns sunny and cooler for Sunday June 3rd before more rain chances move in by midweek of that week as summer-like air tries to push into the region.

Photos of the partial eclipse from Rochester

Photo of the partial eclipse from Rochester May 20th 2012

This is a photo for people who may of not been able to see! This evening the well advertise annualer eclipse took place for a few minutes before sunset as the moon covered a part of the sun as it set in the WNW horizon. After afternoon drizzle ended, skies luckily cleared just in time for a perfect view of the partial eclipse! This was the first time I've ever seen an eclipse and it was very interesting even though it was not a full fledged on that covered the entire sun!

Expect warmer sunny conditions tomorrow with low humidies and lighter winds. For a complete forecast see my post 2 below from this one.

It was a very hot day for the area today. Mid 90s were seen but humidies were low. 1st 90.F of the season

Sunset after a hot day in Rochester,MN May 18th 2012

Many people were feeling the summer-like heat today as temperatures rose into the 90s for the 1st time of 2012. A hot dry air mass that was situated over the Western U.S over the past couple days moved east and brought in this hot, but dry air mass to our region. It was a hot crystal clear day and temperatures easily reached the lower to mid 90s across all communities around our area. This is 20 degrees above the average high of about 70.F. La Crosse NWS said the average 1st 90 for Rochester is June 13th so this is quite early. Even though it was hot the dewpoints were very low in the 40s and 50s which is unusual. In my experience you could normally expect sticky  dewpoints when temperatures near 90s are expected.

List of highs seen across the area Friday.

The highest temperature seen outside of the city of Rochester was Red Wing at 93.F. Overall the highest temperature seen was in the heating effects of Rochester where the high was 94.F.

We can expect this hot weather to last through tomorrow. With a chance at much needed rain late tomorrow night into Sunday