April Weather Summary So Far
Here's the Twin Cities weather summary for April so far. Note that we're running nearly -6.0F below average so far this month, which is tied for the 26th coldest start to any April on record. We're about 0.20" of an inch above average in terms of precipitation, but nearly -1.0" below average in terms of snowfall.
Active Week of Weather
Here's the weather outlook from AM Wednesday to AM Monday. Another storm system arrives Wednesday with widespread soaking rains and windy weather. The weather will be quiet again on Thursday before another large storm arrives Friday into the weekend with more rain, a chance of thunder and gusty winds.
Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's WPC, the precipitation outlook through the weekend ahead looks pretty impressive with some 1" to 2" liquid tallies possible across the northern half of the state. Interestingly, some of the rain late week and into the weekend could be accompanied by thunder.
2022 Official Ice Out Dates
Hey - Look at that! More and more lakes are going ice out in the southern part of the state. However, thanks to a chillier than average month of April so far, several lakes are going out a little later than average. Cedar Lake, Lake Nokomis and Medicine Lake in the metro are officially out. According to the MN DNR, Lake Minnetonka went ice out on April 15th, 2 days later than normal (April 13th). Look for more ice outs over the coming days and weeks. It won't be long now before the land of 10,000 unfrozen lakes returns!
Average Ice Out Dates
We're still several weeks away from ice out across parts of the state, but according to the MN DNR, here's a look at the average ice out dates for lakes across the state. Note that some lakes across the southern part of the state typically see ice out around the end of March. Lake Minnetonka typically doesn't see ice out until mid April. A few lakes in far northern & northeastern MN don't see ice out until late April or early May.
See more from the MN DNR HERE:
Status of Spring
"April 18, 2022 - Spring leaf out continues to progress across the country. Our spring leaf anomaly compares the arrival of spring leaf out this year to a long-term average of 1991-2020. In the East, spring leaf out is patchy this year, arriving days to weeks late across much of the Southeast and Midwest, and arriving days to weeks early across the southern part of the Midwest, the Southern Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast. Parts of Maine are over a week early. In western states, spring leaf out is also patchy, arriving a week late in some locations and over a month early in others. Parts of Montana and South Dakota are 2-3 weeks early. Spring bloom is also spreading north, arriving days to a week late in Texas and Florida and days to several weeks early in California. Spring bloom is over a week early in parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. The mid-Atlantic is patchy, several days early in some locations and several days late in others."
Wednesday Weather Outlook
The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows a pretty soggy day with scattered rain showers and cool temps. Southerly winds will be a bit gusty at times making it feel more like the 30s at times.
Meteograms for Minneapolis
The hourly temps for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows temperature readings starting in the lower 40s in the morning and warming into the upper 40s by the afternoon. Skies will cloudy much of the day with scattered rain showers, which could be steady at times midday. Southerly winds will be breezy much of the day with gusts approaching 30mph at times.
Weather Outlook on Wednesday
Temps around the region on Wednesday will be nearly -5F to -15F below average across much of the region with widespread rain showers.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis through the 2nd half of the weeks looks quite a bit warmer than it was earlier in the week. It'll still be quite chilly on Wednesday with readings running nearly -10F below average, but close to average reading return Thursday and Friday. Saturday could be quite a bit warmer with highs running almost +10F above average with highs in the 70s.
Extended Weather Outlook For Minneapolis
The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days shows chilly and active weather in place through midweek. Another system arrives Wednesday with more rain. Late Friday into Saturday another system moves in with rain and thunder chances. Note that temps on Saturday could approach 70F in the metro, but it'll turn colder again Sunday and Monday with temps well below average once again.
Extended Temperature Outlook For Minneapolis
According to the ECMWF & GFS extended temperature outlook, temps will be quite chilly on Wednesday with rain. However, there's a nice warm up in place for the end of the week and weekend with temps at or above average for a change. Enjoy the brief warmup because it looks like we'll be below average once again by the end of the month and early May.
8 to 14 Day Temperature Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows warmer than average temps across across the southwestern US. Meanwhile, continued cooler than average temperatures will be found along the northern tier of the nation and east of the Rockies.
8 to 14 Day Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8-14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather will be possible in the northern Rockies, but drier weather will settled in from the Midwest to the Southern & Southwestern US.
Mother Nature Is Distracting Us
By Paul Douglas
My friend had news. "Paul, rather than dwelling on the negative, consider the alternative: I'd rather complain about a foul spring than ponder war, inflation, masks or a dozen other clear and present dangers." Wait, Mother Nature is distracting us? She's doing an admirable job. April is 6 degrees colder than average, to date. We've had several candy-coatings of slush, but only 1.6" of snow in April (metro area). That's 1 inch below average. The sheer persistence of cold and wind has been impressively annoying.
Warm air can't push cold air out of the way. Cold air has to retreat on its own, which will happen - gradually - in the weeks to come.
A quarter inch of rain or more will water your lawn today. A Colorado storm tracking into the Dakotas will pull 70-degree warmth into town Saturday, along with a few heavy T-storms and "humidity". You remember humidity, right? Sunday looks windswept but drier, with highs near 50F. 60s may return again the first weekend of May, but I wouldn't plant annuals anytime soon.
Extended Forecast
WEDNESDAY: Rain likely. Winds: S 15-25. High: 49.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Winds: W 5-10. Low: 37.
THURSDAY: Blue sky, pleasant. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 36. High: 56.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy, few showers. Winds: SE 10-20. Wake-up: 43. High: 60.
SATURDAY: Sunny peeks, few strong T-storms. Winds: S 20-40. Wake-up: 54. High: 73.
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy, gusty and cooler. Winds: W 15-30. Wake-up: 46. High: 52.
MONDAY: Scrappy clouds, cool breeze. Winds: NW 10-20. Wake-up: 35. High: 46.
TUESDAY: More sunshine, chilly again. Winds: N 8-13. Wake-up: 28. High: 42.
This Day in Weather History
April 20th
1970: Snow falls across much of Minnesota.
Average High/Low for Minneapolis
April 20th
Average High: 60F (Record: 83F set in 1980)
Average Low: 39F (Record: 21F set in 2013)
Record Rainfall: 0.85" set in 1893
Record Snowfall: 8.5" set in 1893
Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis
April 20th
Sunrise: 6:19am
Sunset: 8:04pm
Hours of Daylight: ~13 hours & 45 minutes
Daylight GAINED since yesterday: ~ 2 minute & 56 seconds
Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 4 Hour & 59 Minutes
Moon Phase for April 20th at Midnight
2.2 Days Before Last Quarter Moon
National High Temps Wednesday
The weather outlook on Wednesday shows chilly temps along and east of the Mississippi River with highs running nearly -5F to -15F below average. Meanwhile, it'll be quite a bit above average along the Front Range and through parts of the Southwest, where temps will be quite a bit above average.
National Weather Outlook
Here's the national weather outlook through Thursday. Areas of heavy snow will linger across parts of the Northeast, while another storm system takes shape in the Central US with more rain/thunder. There is also another storm system in the Pacific Northwest and will develop over the Western US during the 2nd half of the week.
Extended Precipitation Outlook
According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavier precipitation will be found east of the Rockies. Several inches of rain maybe possible in the Central US, where widespread showers and severe storms will be possible.
Extended Snowfall Outlook
Here's the ECMWF extended snowfall outlook through next week. Areas of heavy snow will be possible across parts of the High Plains and the high elevations in the Western US. There will also be heave snows across parts of Canada.
Climate Stories
"BIRD-KILLING WIND TURBINES COULD BE REPLACED BY GIANT HIGH-TECH KITES — BUT THERE'S A CATCH"
"ANY KID WHO'S EVER flown a kite has learned the lesson: Once you can get the kite off the ground and high into the air, you're more likely to find a steady breeze to keep it aloft. A fledgling wind power industry is taking that lesson to heart. Flying massive kites 200 meters or more above the ground, companies are using the wind they find there to generate electricity. At least 10 firms in Europe and the United States are developing variations of this kind of kite power. If they succeed, kites could make it possible to build wind farms on land that isn't windy enough for conventional wind turbine towers. Kites might also be a better choice for offshore wind power, and one day could even replace at least some anchored towers now in use. "It's cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to transport, and also has higher efficiency," says Florian Bauer, co-CEO and chief technology officer of Kitekraft, a Munich-based company developing a kite power system. The carbon footprint is also much smaller, he says. "If you have all those advantages, why would anyone build a conventional wind turbine?"
"Four Ways Investors Can Act on Climate Change"
"As scientists warn about a shifting climate, more investors are thinking about environmental risks and how they might affect their portfolios. After all, global sea levels have risen eight to nine inches since 1880;1 a process that is rapidly accelerating,2 and threatening major global cities like Jakarta, Lagos, and Miami.3 In 2021, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States experienced "20 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each…These events included 1 drought event, 2 flooding events, 11 severe storm events, 4 tropical cyclone events, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event." Separate analysis showed that over the last five years, the United States has experienced $750 billion in total damages from extreme weather events. Attribution science makes clear that global temperature rise leads to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather."
"With dwindling water supplies, the timing of rainfall matters"
"A new UC Riverside study shows it's not how much extra water you give your plants, but when you give it that counts. This is especially true near Palm Springs, where the research team created artificial rainfall to examine the effects on plants over the course of two years. This region has both winter and summer growing seasons, both of which are increasingly impacted by drought and, occasionally, extreme rain events. Normally, some desert wildflowers and grasses begin growing in December, and are dead by June. A second community of plants sprouts in July and flowers in August. These include the wildflowers that make for an extremely popular tourist attraction in "super bloom" years. "We wanted to understand whether one season is more sensitive to climate change than another," said Marko Spasojevic, UCR plant ecologist and lead study author. "If we see an increase or decrease in summer rains, or winter rains, how does that affect the ecosystem?"
Thanks for checking in and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWX
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