Cool Start To The Week, But Back Near 90F Thursday

Definitely take the opportunity to turn off the air conditioner Monday as it will be the coolest day of June with highs only topping off in the upper 60s in the Twin Cities under a mix of sun and clouds.

Looking statewide at your Monday, 60s are expected for highs in most locations - 10F to 15F degrees below average - with a mix of sun and clouds.

Winds will be strong out of the northwest Monday, gusting at times up to around 25 mph making the already cooler than average temperatures potentially feel a bit cooler.

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So while we will see a very cool day (especially by recent standards this month) Monday, temperatures start to rebound in a hurry toward the middle of the week. We could see a shot at another 90F degree high already by Wednesday or Thursday.

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It has still been a very warm first two-thirds of June in the Twin Cities, with an average temperature through Saturday that was 11.2F degrees above average. This was easily the warmest first 19 days of June, the previous being 76.1F in 1933.

Seven of those 11 days have been at or above 95F. This is the second-most that have occurred in June - the most was 10 in 1933. The most for an entire year was 19 in 1988 and 1931.

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Cool Start To The Week, But Back Near 90F Thursday
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

It's amazing the warmth that we have observed so far this month in the Twin Cities. Eleven days so far in June have had a high of 90F or greater, already tied for the fifth most on record for the month. Seven of those days were 95F+, the second most on record for June. Now, we're finally seeing some below average highs this month with it only expected to make it into the upper 60s Monday - 10-15F degrees below average. However, highs will be up around 90F again by Thursday.

After some rain on Sunday, our next storm chances won't be until the second half of the week. With the growing drought situation across the region, we'll take whatever rain we can get to slow it down. River levels are low across the region due to the lack of rain. As of Sunday morning, the Mississippi River at St. Paul was sitting around 2.9 feet. The low water record is 2.65 feet set back in January 1976.

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D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast

MONDAY: Breezy and cool. Wake up 53. High 68. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: A few passing clouds. Wake up 53. High 76. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SW 5-10 mph.

WEDNESDAY: The heat returns. Sun/cloud mix. Wake up 61. High 87. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind SW 5-15 mph.

FRIDAY: A few scattered storms possible. Wake up 65. High 81. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

SATURDAY: Mainly sunny skies. Wake up 60. High 79. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: A few storms, mainly in northern MN. Wake up 61. High 81. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
June 21st

*When Do We Have The Most Daylight? June 20th-21st (15 hours, 36 minutes, and 50 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/After 5:30 AM?: June 30th (5:30 AM)
*When Is The Latest Sunset Of The Year?: June 19th-July 2nd (9:03 PM)

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This Day in Weather History
June 21st

1989: Fairmont has a wind gust of 76 mph during a severe thunderstorm.1992: Abnormally cold conditions occur across the north. Temperatures drop to 26 at Embarrass, MN and Hayward, WI, but the cold spot is 24 at Brimson, MN.

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Claudette will be across the eastern Carolinas early in the day, quickly pushing offshore, but continuing to produce some heavy rains in the Mid-Atlantic.

Even though Claudette is pushing away from the US, heavy rain is continuing to fall through the beginning of the week across portions of the Gulf Coast with at least an additional 3"+ of rain possible from Sunday through Tuesday across the Southeast.

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A California reservoir is expected to fall so low that a hydro-power plant will shut down for first time

More from CNN: "Water in a key California reservoir is expected to fall so low this summer that its hydroelectric power plant will be forced to shut down for the first time, officials said Thursday, straining the state's already-taxed electric grid. An unrelenting drought and record heat, both worsened by the changing climate, have pushed the water supply at Northern California's Lake Oroville to deplete rapidly. As a result of the "alarming levels," officials will likely be forced to close the Edward Hyatt Power Plant for the first time since it opened in 1967, California Energy Commission spokesperson Lindsay Buckley told CNN."

More from VOX: "Bill Gates might be a tech billionaire — but he and his wife Melinda French Gates, who are in the process of divorcing, are also two of the largest private farmland owners in the United States. Recent reports detailing the extent of Gates's land ownership have prompted criticism from some environmental advocates and farmers, who say there seems to be a contradiction between his public environmental advocacy and his personal investment strategy. Others have speculated the farmland purchases may be a part of the billionaire's overall climate efforts. Bill Gates has said there's no connection, either way. But the new details on the purchases — and the discussion surrounding them — serve as an important reminder that billionaires can store their massive wealth in all sorts of unexpected places, and that there can often be a tension between their personal investments and their more publicized philanthropic work."

What 50 years of data from a backyard weather station can teach us about climate change

More from Yale Climate Connections: "On the first leg of their climate documentary road-trip, Local Motives duo Nate Murray and Cody Pfister traveled to the mountains of Virginia to meet a man who has been collecting weather data for over 50 years. Julian Kesterson, who has lived in a valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains since he was a child, began collecting weather data as a hobby, and now the data he collects is used by the National Weather Service. Find out what he has learned, and what it says about the future of Virginia's climate in this Local Motives short film."

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Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).