From June 12th to July 10th, the Twin Cities enjoyed sunsets that were at or just after the 9:00pm hour. On Tuesday, July 11th, sunsets in the Twin Cities will be before 9:00pm once again as the summer slide continues. We've already lost 15 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice and will lose another nearly 40 minutes by the end of July. Also note the record high for July 11th is 106F set in 1936, which is the 2nd hottest temperature that the we've ever had in the Twin Cities. Unbelievably, we hit 106F 3 times that July and even hit 108F on July 14th, 1936.

The simulated radar from AM Tuesday to Midday Wednesday keeps a few lingering showers and isolated thunderstorms across parts of the state through midweek. It doesn't appear that any of the rain will be substantial, but some locations could see a little rain here and there.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook doesn't appear to show a ton of widespread rainfall. Through next weekend, there could be some 0.25" to 0.50" tallies mainly across the southern part of the state and closer to the MN/IA border.

It has been an extremely dry stretch of weather across much of the station over the last several weeks. Only a few locations have seen decent pockets of rain, but the drought is expanding. Severe drought conditions have expanded from nearly 5% last week to nearly 8.5% this week, which encompasses parts of the east Metro. Moderate drought increased from 44% last week to 56% this week. We need rain!

The map below shows the 60 day precipitation anomaly, which indicates that some locations are nearly -3.00" to nearly -6.00" below average (in red) since early May. Spots in Southwest Minnesota still have a surplus of almost 1" in spots.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Tuesday, July 11th will be much cooler than it was on Monday with highs dropping to around 80F, which will be nearly 10F to 15F cooler. Skies will be mostly sunny with a few more clouds later in the day.

The hourly temps through the day Monday shows temps starting in the upper 50s in the morning and topping out in the upper 70s in the afternoon. Skies will be mostly sunny through much of the day with an increase in cloud cover later in the day. Winds will generally be out of the northern around 10mph to 15mph.

Temperatures for the Twin Cities through midweek will be a little cooler than average now with highs dipping into the upper 70s. We'll see a gradual warming trend to near average readings through the end of the week and weekend ahead.

Dewpoints will be fairly comfortable through midweek with readings in the 50s. By the end of the week and weekend ahead, dewpoints will gradually increase close to 60F, but it won't be too uncomfortable.

The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities will be quite a bit cooler than it was on Monday. Highs will only warm into the upper 70s through midweek, which will be nearly 10F to 15F cooler than it was on Monday. It'll get a little warmer as we approach the weekend with a slightly higher chance of spotty thunderstorms.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis will be cooler through midweek with a gradual warming trend over the next several days. Highs in the 90s could return by the 2nd to last full week of July.

Weather conditions across parts of the Central US will be unsettled with daily thunderstorms chances. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, much of the Western US will remain hot and dry. There will also be widely scattered thunderstorms across the Southeastern US with locally heavy rainfall.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across parts of the eastern US. Meanwhile, drier weather will continue across parts of the Western US.

Minnesota native, Bob Dylan, reminds us that "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" and you certainly don't need me to tell you that it has been dry out there.

Despite a few heavy pockets of rain here and there over the last few weeks, much of the state is nearly 3 to 6 inches below normal precipitation over the last 60 days. Only 1.50 inches of rain was registered at the MSP Airport from June 1st to July 9th, which is the 6th driest such period on record. Meanwhile, parts of Hudson Valley in New York saw nearly 8 inches of rain on Sunday, 7 of which came in just a few hours. Widespread flash flooding caused complete chaos in the region, killing at least 1 woman who tried to escape the rising flood waters in what is being called a 1 in 1000 year flood.

An area of low pressure swirling just north of the Canadian border will keep skies overhead a little unsettled over the next several days. Isolated t-shower chances linger into the weekend, but nothing substantial. We're all just "Blowin' in the wind."

TUESDAY: Cooler. Increasing clouds. Winds: NE 5-10. High 80.

WEDNESDAY: Isolated t-showers possible. Mainly south. Winds: ESE 5-10. High: 78.

THURSDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. Stray t-showers. Winds: WNW 5-10. Wake-up: 62. High 83.

FRIDAY: Isolated PM rain and rumbles. Winds: WNW 7-12. Wake-up: 64. High 84.

SATURDAY: Breezy. Passing showers. Winds: WNW 10-15. Wake-up. 63. High: 82.

SUNDAY: Pop up afternoon shower or storm. Winds: WNW 10-15. Wake-up: 62. High: 80.

July 11th

1903: The temperature plummets down to 26 at Leech Lake Dam.

July 11th

Average High: 84F (Record: 106F set in 1936)

Average Low: 66F (Record: 49F set in 1945)

Record Snowfall: NONE

July 11th

Sunrise: 5:37m

Sunset: 8:59pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 21 minutes

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 15 minutes

2.2 Days After Last Quarter Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Tuesday across the Southwest will still be very hot, where excessive heat concerns are still in place. Temperatures will warm to well above average levels and into the 100s. Meanwhile, readings from the Midwest will be a little cooler than average.

The weather outlook on Tuesday will feature isolated thunderstorms across parts of the Central US, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rain.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier precipitation across parts of the Central US, from the Central Plains to the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and into the Northern New England States. Meanwhile, the Western US will be hot and dry into next week.

"As the Arctic warms, shrinking glaciers are exposing bubbling groundwater springs which could provide an underestimated source of the potent greenhouse gas methane, finds new research published in Nature Geoscience. The study, led by researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University Center in Svalbard, Norway, identified large stocks of methane gas leaking from groundwater springs unveiled by melting glaciers. The research suggests that these methane emissions will likely increase as Arctic glaciers retreat and more springs are exposed. This, and other methane emissions from melting ice and frozen ground in the Arctic, could exacerbate global warming. "These springs are a considerable, and potentially growing, source of methane emissions—one that has been missing from our estimations of the global methane budget until now," said Gabrielle Kleber, lead author of the research who is from Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences."

See more from Phys.org HERE:

"As temperatures rise due to climate change, the huge amounts of corn grown in the US Midwest could be under threat, and it seems breeding for high-yielding varieties has made the crop genetically more vulnerable. A century of breeding corn to boost yields in the US Midwest may have also made the crop more vulnerable to the hotter temperatures expected with climate change. The amount of corn grown in the US more than quintupled during the 20th century due to a combination of breeding, agricultural intensification and favorable temperatures. But hotter and drier weather projected to arrive due to climate change threatens to slow or even reverse those gains. "It's fairly severe," says Patrick Schnable at Iowa State University. "If you look at middle-of-the-road projections, corn yield goes down." The worst scenarios project as much as a 50 percent decrease in yield by 2100."

See more from New Scientist HERE:

See more from From New Scientist HERE: