Here's a look at the weather summary for the Twin Cities for the month of August. Through the first 29 days of the month, temps are running about a +0.5F above average with precipitation running about +0.15" above average as well.

August ends on Wednesday with no additional rainfall expected through the end of the week. With that being said, here's a look at how main rain has fallen across the region this month. Some of the heaviest tallies fell south and east of the Twin Cities, where some hefty surpluses are in place from Eau Claire to Rochester to Mason City and Sioux Falls. In fact, Sioux Falls and Mason City will likely see their 8th wettest August on record.

Here's how much rain has fallen across the region so far this summer (since June 1st) and it really has been hit or miss. Pierre, SD has seen more that a foot of rain, which will likely be the 5th wettest summer on record there. Meanwhile, the Twin Cities is nearly 6 inches below average, which will likely be its 9th driest summer on record.

Here are the 15 driest summer's on record at MSP. Note that this summer (since June 1st) has been the 9th driest.

Here's the weather outlook from AM Wednesday to Labor Day Monday. Weather conditions will be quite dry across much of the region and a bubble of high pressure drifts through. Temps will be close to average through midweek, but will warm to well above average levels later in the week as the wind turns to the south. There is a slight chance of PM storms Friday, but the main threat will be south and east of the Twin Cities.

Here's the extended precipitation outlook through Labor Day Monday, which shows mostly dry conditions across the state.

Here's the latest drought update across Minnesota. Prior to last week's rain, severe drought was sitting at a little more than 2%, while Moderate drought was at nearly 10%. The good news is that we'll pick up some additional rainfall over the weekend, so we may see some additional improvement into next week.

The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows temps warming in the mid 80s with plenty of sunshine. NW winds will still be a bit breezy with gusts approaching 15mph to 20mph.

Here's a look at the max dewpoint forecast through the weekend. Note that readings will gradually increase into the low/mid 60s by the end of the week, which will be a little more uncomfortable. Dewpoints will fall back into the 50s this weekend.

The hourly forecast for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows temperatures starting in the lower 60s and warming into the low/mid 80s by the afternoon. It'll be another sunny and somewhat breezy day with NW winds gusting to 15mph-20mph.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows temps running above average through Friday. Thursday and Friday will be the warmest days as we flirt with 90F in some locations. We'll cool back down into the 70s by the weekend.

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days shows warm temps in place through the 2nd half of the week. There is a slight chance of a t-shower or 2 late Friday as a cool front passes by. The weekend looks a little cooler with temps back down into the 70s

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows above average temps returning to much of the nation. It looks like a pretty warm start to September!

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows drier weather in place across the northern tier of the nation, while more active weather will still be in place across the Southern US.

According to NOAA's National Hurricane Center, there are several areas of interest in the Atlantic Basin. One of the waves in the Central Atlantic has a high probability of tropical formation over the next 5 days, so we'll have to keep an eye on that over the coming days.

Stuff I didn't expect in 2022: it's been one of the windiest years on record statewide, according to the MN DNR. Solar panels are great, but will someone PLEASE invent small, shrub-size wind turbines to power our homes?

With the5 confirmed (EF0) tornadoes that hit Dakota and Ramsey county Saturday night we may be up to 75 tornadoes in Minnesota so far this year. That's more than Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma! In fact only Alabama, Mississippi and Texas have observed more twisters in 2022. Mercifully, most have been small and brief. Very weird.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny and perfect. Winds: NW 7-12. High: 84.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear & quiet. Winds: N 5. Low: 62.

THURSDAY: Ditto. Warm sunshine. Winds: S 8-13. High: 86.

FRIDAY: Sticky sunshine. Isolated storm late?. Winds: W 10-15. Wake-up: 70. High: 88.

SATURDAY: Blue sky, cooler breeze. Winds: NE 7-12. Wake-up: 61. High: 76.

MONDAY: Plenty of sun, still lake-worthy. Winds: E 7-12. Wake-up: 61. High: 80.

TUESDAY: Warm sunshine. Good napping weather. Winds: E 5-10. Wake-up: 63. High: 84.

August 31st

1948: An airliner crashes during a thunderstorm near Winona, killing 37 people on board.

1863: A devastating killing frost affects most of Minnesota, killing vines and damaging corn.

Average High: 78F (Record: 94F set in 1898 & 1907)

Average Low: 60F (Record: 45F set in 1935 & 1974)

Record Rainfall: 7.28" set in 1977

Record Snowfall: None

August 31st

Sunset: 7:52pm

Hours of Daylight: ~13 hours & 17 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 3 minutes & 00 seconds

Daylight LOST since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 2 hour & 20 minutes

2.5 Days Before First Quarter Moon

Weather conditions through Thursday will be a bit more active in the Southern US with areas of heavy rainfall potential. Meanwhile, much of the rest of the nation will remain dry.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavier precipitation will be found across the southern part of the country with several inches of rain possible. There will also be pockets of heavy rain the Northeast. Meanwhile, folks in the western half of the nation will stay mostly dry.

"A new week, a new month, a new heat wave — this one the hottest so far this year. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for much of Southern California, as temperatures are expected to hit triple digits this week and into Labor Day weekend. This week's excessive heat for the region will be the warmest and longest heat wave so far this summer, said David Sweet, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard, adding that record temperatures are possible. A large dome of hot air sitting over Central and Southern California is driving the heat wave, Sweet said."

See more from LA Times HERE:

It was a sight to behold — one of the most incredible AccuWeather storm chaser Reed Timmer had ever witnessed up to that point in July 2018. A massive mile-high wall of dust was barreling toward afternoon commuters along Arizona interstates 17 and 8 near Phoenix. The ominous burnt-red curtain packed hurricane-force wind gusts, hail and torrential rains, choking rush hour traffic in near-zero visibility as it made its way westward. Dust storms are not unusual in the arid desert of southwest Arizona. But this one? Veteran Arizona storm chaser Mike Olbinski tweeted was "probably [one of the] top two haboobs I've ever chased."

"An exotic species known as the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, a European mollusk, had found the Great Lakes a welcoming new home. Stowing away in the ballast water of a commercial vessel conducting cross-Atlantic trade, the mussels had disembarked in the lakes and, with no natural predators, had rapidly proliferated. And they had found surfaces to which they could cling. Although the interruption of Monroe's public drinking water supply was the first real alert to the general public that a new pest was in town, scientists had already been aware of the invaders. They had discovered the mussels in Lake St. Clair in 1988. But no one had predicted the explosion of zebra mussel populations in such a short time. Soon the species would become the headliner for a Great Lakes problem reaching back into the 1800s—the intentional and unintentional introduction of non-native aquatic organisms."

See more from Popular Science HERE: