Record heat: 97 in Twin Cities, 100 in Granite Falls

Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune

Ten-year-old Miranda Neuhaus, left, and Jacqueline Boarman, 9, who go to Armatage Community & Montessori School, pitched cool drinks to motorists and other passerbys. The proceeds will benefit the family of a school friend who passed away.

By Bill McAuliffe, Star Tribune

Last update: May 19, 2009 - 9:00 PM

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The Twin Cities blasted into a heat record Tuesday with a high temperature of 97 degrees, breaking the previous record for the date by eight degrees.

Meanwhile, as Granite Falls hit 100 degrees at 5 p.m., Grand Marais was recording 34 degrees, giving Minnesota both some of the nation’s warmest and coolest temperatures simultaneously. When recording 100, Granite falls was 21 degrees warmer than Houston and 25 degrees warmer than Miami.

The heat was the result of relatively rare and localized “compressional heating,” by which warm air above the ground is pressed downward by high pressure, warming in the process, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Taggart.

In fact, the Twin Cities saw two dramatic temperature swings during the day as fronts moved through. At the Star Tribune, the temperature dropped from 68 at 6:30 a.m. to 57 an hour later. In the afternoon, it rose from 90 to 95 between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Bill McAuliffe • 612-673-7646

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