Saturday, May 16, 2009

A welcome May day without wind chill

Weather Headlines

* 57 degree high in the Twin Cities on Sunday, 15 degrees cooler than average. A stubborn wind made it feel like 30s!

* Frost advisory early Sunday gives way to afternoon highs in the low to mid 60s by late afternoon (a 30 degree temperature rise in many communities).

* Mid 70s Monday, 1 in 3 chance of a late-day T-storm.

* Cooling off Tuesday, but temperatures warm back into the 70s later in the week.

* String of 80s the week of May 23-30? Long-range models hinting at a taste of summer weather - finally.


On Friday thunderstorms soaked much of central and northeastern Minnesota. St. Cloud picked up 1.3" of rain, but less than .10" fell on the Twin Cities. Unlike late fall, winter and early spring, when precipitation is more uniform from one town to the next, summer rainfall patterns are far more fickle and variable. Town A can get soaked with a couple inches of rain from a T-storm, while 5 miles down the road the sun is out and farmer are wondering where the rain is! It's impossible to predict specific rainfall amounts for one point, one location - all we can do is tell when conditions are ripe for showers and storms.



So far in May only .38" of rain has fallen on the Twin Cities, more than 1.1" drier than usual. In contrast St. Cloud rainfall for the month is 1.56", largely the result of one persistent thunderstorm that temporarily stalled over central Minnesota late Friday. There's little chance of additional rain or T-storms until late Monday as a cooler front approaches.


Paul's Outlook

Sunday: Plenty of sun, turning breezy and milder. Winds: S 10-20. High: 65

Sunday night: Clear to partly cloudy, not as chilly. Low: 52

Monday: Fading sun as clouds increase, warmer. A stray T-storm by late afternoon. High: 76

Tuesday: Cooler with clearing skies. High: 63

Wednesday: Mix of clouds and sun, milder. High: 72

Thursday: Unsettled, more humid. A few spotty showers and T-storms. High: near 70

Friday: Lot's of sun, less humid. High: 73

Saturday: Mostly sunny, very pleasant. High: 74

Sunday: Sun dimmed by high clouds, very springy. High: 76

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