* Winds gust to 53 mph. at St. Cloud, 50 mph in the Twin Cities, gusts reach 54-56 mph. over much of southern Minnesota, strong enough to bring down trees and cause minor roof damage.
* High winds scoop off topsoil - blowing dust reduces visibility to under 2 miles at times on Wednesday.
* Winds were strong enough to close the main runways for a time at Twin Cities International Airport.
* Today: 20-25 degrees cooler as winds shift around to the north/northwest.
* Slight (1 in 3) chance of a light shower or sprinkle today as cooler air arrives. Front may come through dry in many communities.
* Some PM sun later today, sunshine much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday as a weak bubble of Canadian high pressure drifts over Minnesota, keeping most showers/storms just to our south.
* Slight shower/thunder risk on Memorial Day, but most of the day looks dry.
* No more hot fronts: holiday weekend temperatures close to average (upper 60s and low 70s....a few degrees cooler for northern lakes).
(Update: 9:37 am. Doppler shows light to moderate showers popping up across the state, the heaviest rains south/west of St. Cloud. It appears that the Twin Cities metro area stands a better chance of a few hours of rain today than the greater St. Cloud area. Rainfall amounts of .10 to .20" are possible, even a few claps of thunder).
(Image courtesy of the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minnesota).Paul's Outlook
Tonight: Mostly clear, much more comfortable. Low: 50 (upper 40s in the suburbs).
Friday: Plenty of sun, a bit milder. High: 73
Saturday: Sunshine much of the day, quite pleasant. High: 72
Sunday: Partly sunny, still dry. High: 73
Memorial Day: More clouds, risk of a shower or T-storm by afternoon. High: 71
Tuesday: Partly sunny, isolated shower. High: 73
Wednesday: More sun, turning milder. High: 76
WeatherFact
One more look at Tuesday's temperature extremes, which may have been historic: a 66 degree temperature extreme at 4 pm (100 F. in Granite Falls at the same time it was only 34 in Grand Marais).
The warm front (more like a HOT front) was so vigorous that it actually showed up on the Chanhassen Doppler Radar. Dust, pollen and insects swept up by the winds converged along the frontal boundary, which shows up quite clearly on the NWS radar sweep. To the south of the front temperatures were in the upper 90s with a howling south wind. North of the front readings were in the 50s over the far northern suburbs (Mora, Princeton) with a raging east wind.
For a great write-up on the strange, historic outbreaks of heat and wind over much of Minnesota on Tuesday and Wednesday click here for a detailed summary from the local National Weather Service office.
Yeah, that wind was something down here in Rochester yesterday. I was trying to stay ahead picking up all the branches, but gave up. Once it died down some what after supper, picked up almost a whole Ranger truck box full of branches!
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