Words matter. Let the record show I’m as guilty of this as anyone else. So often I lapse into “a threat of rain” or a “risk of thundershowers.” Considering more than half of Minnesota is still in drought, a few good soakings in the coming weeks would be glorious. “An opportunity for mud!”
Columbia’s International Research Institute is predicting lingering drought from May through July from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Plains and Mid-South. I’m still hoping we can avoid using the D-word this summer.
Late April looks promising. ECMWF suggests 1 to 3 inches of rain by late April, with half a dozen storms. Expect rain on Thursday with showers spilling into Friday. More rain late Easter Sunday may end as a slushy mix on Sunday night. Something to look forward to.
Meteorologists like it when weather models agree, which, regretfully, is rare. NOAA’s GFS model agrees, hinting at 1 to 2 inches of rain in the next two weeks, so I’m cautiously optimistic.
The trick is to get rain without the nasty stuff — flooding, hail and tornadoes. Right.
