As of 5PM EDT, Elsa was a Tropical Storm with 50mph sustained winds located near Cuba and was headed NW at 14mph. Elsa became the 5th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane on July 1st, which was the earlier on record beating the previous record set last year (2020) by Eduord on July 9th.

Elsa is expected to make landfall sometime on Wednesday along Florida's West Coast. Areas of heavy rain and gusty winds are expected as Elsa slides along the coast. Areas of heavy rain will continue through the Mid-Atlantic States through the end of week.

A Storm Surge Warning has been issued for the Florida west coast from Bonita Beach northward to the Aucilla River including Tampa Bay. The Tropical Storm Warning along the Florida west coast has been extended northward and westward to the Ochlockonee River.

Rainfall from Elsa is expected to be quite heavy across much of Florida and especially along the West Coast, where some 6" to 10" tallies can't be ruled out. Amounts should lessen through the Mid-Atlantic States, but amounts still could approach 2" to 4" in some areas.

According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there is a Marginal Risk of severe storms in dark green across parts of southern Minnesota on Tuesday, which includes the Twin Cities. Some of the storms that develop PM Tuesday could produce gusty winds and hail.

Here's the simulated radar from 7AM Tuesday to 7AM Wednesday. Widespread showers and storms are expected to push through the state much of the day. When all is said and done, some locations could see more than 1" of rain, which will be much needed for lawns and gardens.

The rainfall potential through Wednesday shows fairly widespread rainfall with some locations getting up to near 1" or more, including parts of the Twin Cities. Keep in mind that many locations are dealing with big precipitation deficits so far this summer and since the beginning of the year.

The meteograms for Minneapolis on Tuesday shows temps warming into the low 80s by midday with scattered showers and storms possible through the day. There could be areas of locally heavy rainfall in spots.

The weather outlook across the region on Tuesday looks a bit unsettled with showers and storms moving through the area. Temps will be running nearly -5F to -15F below average across the central and northern part of the state.

The extended weather outlook for Minneapolis shows temps warming to below average levels for several days through the rest of the week. Temps haven't been this cool for several weeks now. Chances of showers and storms will be with us on Tuesday and again on Friday.

Here's the extended weather outlook from AM Tuesday to PM Wednesday, which shows widespread showers and storms moving through the Upper Midwest. Some of the rain tallies through midweek could approach 1" or more with isolated strong to severe storms possible.

Here's the rainfall potential through 7PM Wednesday across the Midwest, which shows pockets of heavier tallies from the Dakotas through Minnesota and into Wisconsin.

Every January friends in Florida playfully troll me with fake concern about our weather. "Paul, are you OK? I hear Minnesota is subzero. Tots and pears!" So it is only fitting that I return the favor during hurricane season. "It's in the 80s and 90s up here and a storm is coming. But get this, our storms don't have names!" Those same friends in Naples and Vero Beach ghost me from June through October. They ignore my hurricane updates.

There is no risk-free place to live. Storms are a constant but areas near sea level are often riskier than others.

"Elsa" strafes the Gulf coast of Florida today with flooding rains, 55 mph gusts and a 2-4 foot storm surge at Tampa Bay. And yes, it's early to be tracking tropical cyclones hitting the U.S.

Showers and T-storms squeeze out half an inch of rain in the metro today with some 1-inch amounts over central Minnesota. Let it rain.

No more 90s. 70s and low 80s will feel refreshing this week. Friday showers give way to a weekend of slow clearing. And not one hurricane.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Chance of showers and storms. Winds: NNE 5-10. Low: 58.

WEDNESDAY: Breezy and cooler with comfortable sun. Winds: NE 10-15. High: 72.

THURSDAY: Lukewarm sun, few storms at night. Winds: SE 5-10. Wake-up: 57. High: 74.

FRIDAY: Unsettled, few showers and T-storms. Winds: SE 10-20. Wake-up: 60. High: 75.

SATURDAY: Rain far south. Slow clearing, breezy. Winds: E 10-20. Wake-up: 62 High: 78.

MONDAY: Irritable sky, few T-storms possible. Winds: E 10-15. Wake-up: 64. High: 81.

July 6th

1936: A high of 104 degrees is recorded at Minneapolis.

July 6th

Average High: 84F (Record: 104F set in 1936)

Record Rainfall: 2.83" set in 2015

Record Snowfall: 0.00"

July 6th

Sunrise: 5:34am

Sunset: 9:01pm

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 1 minute & 4 seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 20th): ~1 Minute

2.8 Days Before New Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

In the morning before sunup July 5 to 8, 2021, watch for the waning crescent moon and Mercury, plus red Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster, in Taurus the Bull.

The weather outlook on Tuesday shows cooler temps across the Central US with temps running nearly -5F to -10F below average in spots. Meanwhile, folks in the Northeast and Northwest will be running above average by nearly +5F to +10F

The national weather outlook through PM Thursday shows widespread showers and storms across the Central US. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding. We're also watching Elsa, which will bring areas of heavy rain and gusty winds to the Southeast during the 2nd half of the week.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center areas of heavy rainfall will be possible across parts of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast through the week ahead. Meanwhile, heavy rain will be possible in the Southeast from Elsa. There also appears to be heavier rains in southern Texas, but very little rainfall will be found in the Western US.

Earth is losing ice at a rapid rate, with a frozen area the size of Lake Superior melting every year. It's no surprise that the planet is melting, of course. Researchers have been documenting losses in the polar ice sheets, in glaciers and in seasonal snow cover for years. They've also found that ice on rivers and lakes is melting earlier in the spring as temperatures warm, driven by climate change. But a new study out May 16 in the open-access journal Earth's Future is the first to put all the frozen bits of Earth together and measure their melting in one fell swoop. The collective ice on the planet is known as the cryosphere. Led by Xiaoqing Peng, a geographer at Lanzhou University in China, the new study finds that the planet has lost about 33,000 square miles (87,000 square kilometers) of ice cover each year since 1979.

See more from Live Science HERE:

See more from Axios HERE:

"They're arriving in swarms so dense it can appear the earth is moving. They're covering roads and fields, pelting ATV riders, and steadily devouring grains and grass to the bedevilment of farmers and ranchers. A massive population of grasshoppers is proliferating in the sweltering American west, where a deep drought has made for ideal conditions for grasshopper eggs to hatch and survive into adulthood. "I can only describe grasshoppers in expletives," said Richard Nicholson, a cattle rancher in Fort Klamath, a small community in southern Oregon, who once recalled seeing grasshopper bands eat 1,000 acres a day and cover the ground like snow. The insects cause innumerable headaches for farmers and ranchers, competing with cattle for tough-to-find wild forage and costing tens of thousands of dollars in lost crops and associated costs. "They are a scourge of the Earth … They just destroy the land, destroy the crops. They are just a bad, bad predator."

See more from The Guardian HERE: