Friday Weather Outlook
A mainly sunny day awaits us on Friday with just some high-level clouds filtering through at times. Morning temperatures start off in the mid-50s before climbing to the low 80s for highs.
Dry weather reigns across the state on Friday with just some high-level clouds throughout the day, especially in northern Minnesota. Highs range from the 60s along portions of the North Shore to the mid-80s in southwestern Minnesota. These highs will be up to 15F degrees above average in some locations.
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Twin Cities Weekend Weather
Just like Friday, it's going to be a nice weekend here in the Twin Cities with a mix of sun and clouds expected each day. Saturday will be the warmer day this weekend with highs in the low to mid-80s before they cool back off into the low and mid-70s Sunday.
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Drought Update
We did see some slight improvement in portions of western and southern Minnesota in the latest Drought Monitor update released Thursday, but most areas of the state stayed the same week-to-week. 85.6% of the state continues to be under at least Moderate Drought, with 5.8% still under Exceptional Drought (the highest category). The above shows last week's Drought Monitor on the left vs. this week on the right.
Here's a better look at where the drought improved a category over the past week - again, across portions of southern and western Minnesota. We did see an area near Duluth get one category worse - in those areas it went from Moderate to Severe Drought.
Over the past month, we have seen drought improvement across much of central and southern Minnesota as well as northwestern portions of the state. Areas in north-central and northeastern Minnesota have seen the drought worsen.
While there are some isolated areas of green (indicating above average precipitation) on our departure from the average map for the year across western and southern Minnesota, most areas of the state are still running several inches before average for 2021. In the Twin Cities we are over 3" below average, while some in northern Minnesota are at least 6" below average.
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Fall Color Update
We're starting to see a few more splotches of color pop up on the Minnesota DNR Fall Color Finder - most of it up in northern Minnesota. Some of the increase in color has been helped by cooler nights up north, but it's also due to the continuing drought situation. You can follow the MN DNR Fall Color Finder throughout the fall color season by clicking here.
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Drought Slightly Improves In Western, Southern MN
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas
Despite some of the heavier rain across the state late last week, we only saw slight improvements across western and southern Minnesota in the latest Drought Monitor released Thursday. 85.6% of Minnesota remains under at least moderate drought, with the highest drought category (exceptional) still covering 5.8% of the state up in northwestern areas including around Upper and Lower Red Lake. MSP Airport remains over 3" below average since January 1st.
A drier stretch of weather continues into the weekend with our next chance of wet weather in the metro holding off until early next week. The CPC 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks shows the probability of drier than average weather continuing for much of the state. Temperatures warm into the 80s today and Saturday before falling back to the 70s Sunday.
Get your PSLs ready - the Minnesota DNR is already updating their fall color map with several splotches of 10-25% color, particularly in northern Minnesota. Some of this is due to the drier conditions, but also our recent cooler nights.
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D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast
FRIDAY: A few passing clouds. Wake up 56. High 81. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 5-15 mph.
SATURDAY: Increasing clouds. Average high: 75F. Wake up 64. High 83. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.
SUNDAY: Clouds across southern MN. Cooler. Wake up 58. High 74. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NNE 3-8 mph.
MONDAY: Sun/cloud mix. A few PM storms. Wake up 56. High 76. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind SE 5-15 mph.
TUESDAY: Breezy. A passing shower or two. Wake up 62. High 75. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind WNW 10-15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs around average. Wake up 55. High 75. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 5-10 mph.
THURSDAY: Slightly warmer. Late night storm? Wake up 56. High 77. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.
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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
September 10th
*Length Of Day: 12 hours, 46 minutes, and 30 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 3 minutes and 4 seconds
*When Do We Drop Below 12.5 Hours Of Daylight? September 16th (12 hours, 27 minutes, and 59 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/After 7:00 AM?: September 22nd (7:00 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/Before 7:30 PM?: September 11th (7:30 PM)
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This Day in Weather History
September 10th
2002: A late-season tornado strikes Albertville just after midnight. According to a damage survey conducted by NWS personnel, it touched down on the eastern edge of Cedar Creek Golf Course, then it moved straight east and dissipated in a city park just west of the railroad tracks. It completely tore the roof off of one home. Roofs were partially off a number of other homes, many attached garages collapsed, and a couple of houses were rotated on their foundation. About 20 homes were damaged, nine of which sustained significant damage.
1986: 3 inch hail falls in Watonwan County.
1947: Downpours fall across the Iron Range. Hibbing receives 8.6 inches in three hours.
1931: St Cloud experiences a record high of 106 degrees, and it reaches 104 degrees in Minneapolis.
1910: The shortest growing season on record in Duluth ends, with frost free days from June 14 to September 10 (87 days). Normally the frost-free season is 143 days.
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National Weather Forecast
On Friday, a departing low in New England will still bring rain chances, especially earlier in the day across Maine. A frontal boundary from southern Texas to Florida will produce a few showers and storms. A system out west will also bring storm chances.
The heaviest rain from Thursday through Saturday evening will be across portions of the Southeast due to Mindy departing the region, and across portions of eastern New England where some 3"+ tallies are possible.
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Summer 2021 neck and neck with Dust Bowl summer for hottest on record
More from NOAA: "Last month brought Hurricane Ida, numerous wildfires and devastating floods, capping off a summer of record heat and rainfall for many states throughout the country. ... The average temperature during meteorological summer for the contiguous U.S. was 74.0 degrees F, 2.6 degrees above average. This technically exceeds the record heat of the 1936 Dust Bowl Summer, but the difference is extremely small (less than 0.01 of a degree F). ... The average summer precipitation total was 9.48 inches — 1.16 inches above average — making it the eighth-wettest summer in the historical record. Mississippi had its wettest summer on record while Alabama, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York had a summer that ranked among their five wettest. Meanwhile, Minnesota had its seventh-driest summer on record."
Biden administration says solar energy has the potential to power 40% of US electricity by 2035
More from CNN: "A new blueprint from the Biden administration shows how solar energy could play a massive role in transitioning the United States' power sector to clean energy, and achieve the President's ambitious goals to decarbonize the US economy. The Solar Futures Study from the Department of Energy, released Wednesday, shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation's electricity and employ as many as 1.5 million people — without raising electricity costs for consumers. Though the report shows reaching 40% solar is possible, that goal is contingent on Congress passing legislation that incentivizes renewable energy as well as the widespread adoption of solar power. Congressional Democrats are currently negotiating a $3.5 trillion spending bill that includes tax credits for wind and solar power, but it faces a tough fight this fall."
U.S. connected 2.8 GW wind power capacity to the grid in Q2
More from Renewable Energy World: "The U.S. connected 2.8 gigawatts of wind power capacity to the grid in the second quarter of 2021, according to analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.Q2 2021 was one of the strongest second quarters on record for wind power capacity additions, according to the analysis. The U.S. now has 127 GW of cumulative wind power capacity with a pipeline of 62 GW under development through 2025. "Wind power is the dominant source of renewable energy in the U.S., and it is helping to drive the transformation of the nation's power grid away from fossil fuels," S&P analysts Justin Horwath and Krizka Danielle Del Rosario wrote. "The turning point occurred in 2020 when renewable energy became the second-most prevalent source of electricity behind natural gas.""
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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).
- D.J. Kayser
