Wasn't Tropical Storm Ricky fun? Talk about drenching rains and jarring jolts of lightning. On Doppler it looked almost tropical in nature, with waves — spiral bands — of intense rainfall rotating north out of Iowa. Wind shear was sufficient but the atmosphere overhead wasn't quite unstable enough for a widespread severe weather outbreak here.
It was another million-dollar rain event with over an inch for many spots, and lighter rain will fall today. We've gone from drought to flooding concerns, with saturated soil, especially over far southern Minnesota. Blink and the weather patterns change.
Showers finally taper this afternoon, and other than a fleeting shower Thursday, skies slowly dry and cool in the coming days. I see 40s to near 50 degrees by Friday and Saturday, but the sun will be out this weekend, especially Sunday.
Nighttime lows dip below 32 over the weekend, but a more Pacific wind flow should flip the switch back to 60s next week. Water in our lakes, replenished soil moisture. Is it too wet to plant now? Oh dear.
