In a year that has so far featured mostly temperate conditions to more or less cooler than normal weather it’s strange to think that we may be facing a long spell of heat in our weather picture in the not too distant future.  In other words, it appears that we may be experiencing a bit of a “heat wave” later this week as temperatures in the longer term look to climb to above normal levels and possibly stay in that range through the end of the month.  In the short term, we’re enjoying Canadian high pressure today and will generally stick with that mild air mass through tonight and Wednesday before a change in the jet stream aloft allows the heat to build in later in the week.

Seasonable warmth lingers in the region for the mid week as surface high pressure builds in for a couple of days.

Hot, humid air arrives late in the work week as does the threat for scattered thunderstorms.

A large upper level low comes in for Sunday and Monday, possibly leading to a more widespread thunderstorm threat for a few days late in the weekend and for the first part of next week. Heat and humidity look to stick around through the next week or so.

Posted under heat

It was a combination of a strong surface low pressure system in northern Iowa and an upper level system that came from our northwest Wednesday that created a severe weather outbreak mainly along the Minnesota-Iowa border and across a big portion of northern Iowa.  A Tornado Watch was issued for northern Iowa in the afternoon Wednesday the 12th and within a couple of hours there were a couple of confirmed touchdowns.  One struck the small town of Belmond in Wright County and another minutes later touched down near Hampton in Franklin County and today the National Weather Service is sending out a survey team to assess the damage and determine the exact damage path as they try to determine just how strong those tornadoes were.  They’ll later assign an EF (Enhanced Fujita Scale) rating for the tornadoes.  Below is a listing of some of the damage reports from around the area:

More reports can be seen on the Storm Prediction Center webpage.

Reports from the NWS in La Crosse:

Storm Reports from June 12th, 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0415 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     GUTTENBERG              42.79N 91.10W
06/12/2013                   CLAYTON            IA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0422 PM     HEAVY RAIN       OELWEIN                 42.68N 91.91W
06/12/2013  M1.50 INCH       FAYETTE            IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0429 PM     TSTM WND GST     PORT ANDREW             43.21N 90.57W
06/12/2013  E60.00 MPH       RICHLAND           WI   AMATEUR RADIO

0508 PM     FLOOD            BOSCOBEL                43.14N 90.70W
06/12/2013                   GRANT              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STREET FLOODING IN PARTS OF THE VILLAGE

0610 PM     HAIL             5 S WHALAN              43.66N 91.93W
06/12/2013  E1.75 INCH       FILLMORE           MN   PUBLIC

0725 PM     TSTM WND DMG     CHARLES CITY            43.07N 92.68W
06/12/2013                   FLOYD              IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE SQUAD REPORTED TREES DOWN IN THE
            CITY OF CHARLES CITY AT 1264 OCEAN AVENUE

0811 PM     TSTM WND GST     NORA SPRINGS            43.14N 93.01W
06/12/2013  M59.00 MPH       FLOYD              IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE SQUAD MEASURED A WIND GUST OF 59
            MILES PER HOUR NEAR NORA SPRINGS

0818 PM     HAIL             ORAN                    42.70N 92.07W
06/12/2013  E1.00 INCH       FAYETTE            IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

0822 PM     HAIL             KIELER                  42.58N 90.60W
06/12/2013  E0.25 INCH       GRANT              WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

0822 PM     TSTM WND DMG     NORA SPRINGS            43.14N 93.01W
06/12/2013                   FLOYD              IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE SQUAD REPORTS NUMEROUS TREES AND
            POWER LINES DOWN

1012 PM     FLASH FLOOD      NORA SPRINGS            43.14N 93.01W
06/12/2013                   FLOYD              IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SOME ROADS WERE IMPASSABLE OR WASHED OUT. WATER IS TO THE
            TOP OF THE LEVEE ON THE SHELL ROCK RIVER.

Posted under severe weather

Our first round of morning thunderstorms has come and gone.  Other than loud crashes of thunder, and a lot of lightning, the first round passed relatively quietly bringing with it no wind damage.  There will be another chance for strong storms in the afternoon, but there will be factors working against the development of stronger storms (which is a good thing!)  We’ll take a look at them below.

First off, here is the risk outlook issued by the Storm Prediction Center for the rest of our Wednesday.  Notice the main severe weather risk is outside of the area where a moderate risk of severe weather has been issued for the Chicago area and points in the central Great Lakes.

Below is the water vapor imagery, and inside the red is the disturbance responsible for the thunderstorm development early this morning and will be the focal point for any storms that fire in our area, but especially south and east of the area.

The one thing in question this morning will be how much sunshine we will see this afternoon.  It looks like there will be the chance to see some sunshine in between a few waves of  clouds that will act to destabilize the atmosphere.  The more sun we see, the better chance we will have to get in on stronger storms as the disturbance outlined above crosses the area later today.

Again the most likely area for severe weather will be south and east of the area, but the situation is being watched closely this morning and this afternoon just in case ingredients come back together.

Posted under Uncategorized

A storm system to our west is expected to produce some showers and thunderstorms in our area later tonight through much of our Wednesday, some of which may become severe and produce some unwanted heavy rainfall.  Right now, it looks like a complex of strong thunderstorms is going to develop in eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota in the late afternoon and evening hours today and then begin to quickly move eastward into a favorable environment for damaging winds as it approaches our viewing area after midnight tonight.  Wind gusts may exceed 70 miles per hour, uprooting trees or knocking down powerlines in the overnight period and rainfall amounts may reach an inch or two in a short amount of time leading to flash flooding possibilities very early Wednesday morning.  The Storm Prediction Center has placed out entire area in the “Slight Risk” of severe weather while a “Moderate Risk” lies just to our west in South Dakota and northern Nebraska. 

Damaging winds, some hail, and locally heavy rainfall will be possible late Tuesday night and early Wednesday in our area.

Posted under severe weather

After a rather lengthy cool, dreary, and unsettled stretch of weather, we’re finally seeing signs of change in our pattern that will mean summer-like weather for us including sunshine and warmer temperatures.  The jet stream has been in a stagnant, flat, west-to-east pattern lately, keeping things cool and wet, but not ut looks like there will be a subtle shift to the north, allowing warmer air in from the south, and fewer storm systems in our weather picture.  There will still be rain chances, but not quite as many as in recent weeks, and storm systems will more likely move along a bit more quickly and not linger for days on end.  Look for high temperatures in the 70s to lower 80s this week with a chance for some thunderstorms Tuesday night through much of Wednesday and then some more showers and thunderstorms Saturday through a part of Sunday.  Aside from that, there looks to be sunnier weather for the surrounding days.

A flat, zonal flow pattern has kept things cool and gray for the past few weeks.

The jet stream will buckle northward over the next few days, allowing more seasonable warmth into the region.

Posted under Uncategorized

Thanks to Jeff Boyne at NWS La Crosse for compiling the following statistics!

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
546 AM CDT THU JUN 6 2013

...WETTEST START TO A YEAR IN ROCHESTER MN...

THROUGH JUNE 5TH...ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED 
24.30 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION.  THIS IS 11.18 INCHES ABOVE THE 
1981-2010 NORMAL OF 13.12 INCHES. THIS IS THE WETTEST START TO A 
YEAR.  THE PREVIOUS RECORD THROUGH THIS DATE WAS 19.35 INCHES IN 
2001.  THE TABLE BELOW CONTAINS THE TEN WETTEST STARTS TO A YEAR IN 
ROCHESTER MN.

        WETTEST STARTS TO A YEAR
           THROUGH JUNE 5TH
            IN ROCHESTER MN
               1887-2013

              PRECIPITATION
    RANK          TOTAL           YEAR
    ----      -------------       ----
      1       24.30 INCHES        2013
      2       19.35 INCHES        2001
      3       18.46 INCHES        1888
      4       17.15 INCHES        1945
      5       17.10 INCHES        1999
      6       16.84 INCHES        2000
      7       16.49 INCHES        1990
      8       16.40 INCHES        1951
      9       15.69 INCHES        1938
     10       15.48 INCHES        1973  

IN CONTRAST...THERE WAS ONLY 11.03 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION BY THIS 
DATE.

Posted under rainfall amounts, Records, Rochester

Thanks to our friends in the National Weather Service for compiling this data. Here is their statement below.

Dodge Center, MN is now the snowiest place in Minnesota – in May.

RECORD EVENT REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
609 AM CDT WED JUN 5 2013

...1-DAY...2-DAY...AND 3-DAY MAY SNOWFALL RECORDS SET IN MINNESOTA...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE MINNESOTA STATE CLIMATOLOGY 
OFFICE JUST RECENTLY CONFIRMED THAT THE SNOWFALL MEASURED AT DODGE 
CENTER MINNESOTA /DODGE COUNTY/ IN EARLY MAY OF 2013 ESTABLISHED A 
SNOW 1-DAY AND 2-DAY MAY SNOWFALL RECORD. THEY ALSO CONFIRMED THAT 
THE COCORAHS OBSERVER NEAR ELLENDALE /0.3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
ELLENDALE/ IN STEELE COUNTY ESTABLISHED THE 3-DAY MAY SNOWFALL 
RECORD DURING THIS SAME SNOW STORM.

ON MAY 2ND...THE DODGE CENTER COOPERATIVE OBSERVER RECORDED 
15.4 INCHES OF SNOW. THIS ESTABLISHES A NEW MINNESOTA STATE RECORD 
FOR 1-DAY MAY SNOWFALL. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 12 INCHES AT WINDOM 
/MAY 8 1938/ AND LEONARD /MAY 3 1954/.

FROM MAY 2ND INTO MAY 3RD...THE DODGE CENTER COOPERATIVE OBSERVER  
RECORDED 17.2 INCHES OF SNOW.  THIS ESTABLISHES A NEW MINNESOTA 
STATE RECORD FOR 2-DAY MAY SNOWFALL. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 
12 INCHES AT WINDOM /MAY 8 1938/ AND LEONARD /MAY 3 1954/.

FROM MAY 2ND INTO MAY 4TH...THE ELLENDALE COCORAHS OBSERVER RECORDED 
17.3 INCHES OF SNOW.  THIS ESTABLISHES A NEW MINNESOTA STATE RECORD 
FOR 3-DAY MAY SNOWFALL. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 12 INCHES AT WINDOM 
/MAY 8 1938/ AND LEONARD /MAY 3 1954/.

THOSE OF US IN THE CLIMATE COMMUNITY ARE EXCEEDINGLY GRATEFUL FOR 
THEIR DILIGENCE IN MEASURING SNOWFALL DURING THIS HISTORIC MAY SNOW 
STORM.

$$

BOYNE/MARGRAF/SPODEN

Posted under Records, Snow Totals

Courtesy NWS La Crosse

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1024 AM CDT WED JUN 5 2013

...MAY 2013 PRECIPITATION TOTALS...

...LOCATION...                   ...AMT...
                                 IN INCHES
...NORTHEAST IOWA...

CALMAR                             12.72
ST ANSGAR                          12.57
OSAGE                              12.54
STRAWBERRY POINT                   11.45
CRESCO 1NE                         11.12
FAYETTE                            10.75
DECORAH 8ENE                       10.73
OELWEIN 1WNW                       10.58
DECORAH #1                         10.35
IONIA 2W                           10.30
WAUCOMA 3.2S                       10.03
NASHUA 2SW                          9.92
DECORAH #2                          9.64
POSTVILLE                           9.51
CHARLES CITY                        9.29
DORCHESTER                          9.27
OELWEIN 1E                          9.18
LANSING 4SE                         8.46
DORCHESTER HWY 76                   8.36
ELKADER                             8.34
NEW HAMPTON                         8.31
CLAREMONT 2.5SSE                    8.27
NEW HAMPTON                         8.04
GUTTENBERG L/D10                    7.73
WAUCOMA 3SE                         6.83
ELMA                                6.40
ELKADER 1SE                         6.07

...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...

GRAND MEADOW                       14.64
OSTRANDER                          13.73
ALTURA 5W                          12.71
ELBA 4.7SW                         12.46
SPRING VALLEY                      12.26
ROCHESTER INTL AIRPORT             12.26
WINONA 5.1WSW                      11.69
WINONA 3.8SE                       11.29
ROCHESTER AP 2NE                   11.04
MINNESOTA CITY L/D5                11.03
AUSTIN WASTE WATER                 10.98
LA CRESCENT L/D7                   10.91
RUSHFORD 6.3NNE                    10.70
THEILMAN                           10.58
HARMONY                            10.42
WINONA DAM L/D5A                   10.37
CHATFIELD 9ESE                     10.32
RUSHFORD                           10.31
ROCHESTER 2.5W                     10.22
PRESTON                            10.15
LANESBORO                           9.91
ROCHESTER 3.9ESE                    9.90
BYRON 5.7S                          9.44
WHALAN 3.3SSE                       9.32
BYRON                               9.09
DODGE CENTER                        9.03
ROCHESTER 5.5N                      8.80
CALEDONIA 5.4S                      8.76
ELGIN 2SSW                          8.75
MANTORVILLE 1.9ESE                  8.54
HOUSTON 1N                          8.51
LEWISTON                            8.24
STOCKTON                            8.11
WABASHA                             8.09
EYOTA 5.3W                          7.99
SPRING GROVE 4N                     7.83
ZUMBRO FALLS 3.5SSW                 7.67
PRESTON 1SSE                        7.10
LAKE CITY 1.2NNW                    6.60
LAKE CITY                           6.46
ROCHESTER 4.1N                      5.88
ROCHESTER 5.8ENE                    5.64
PINE ISLAND 1S                      5.55

...WISCONSIN...

GALESVILLE 3ESE                    10.88
TOWN OF HOLLAND                    10.02
ALMA L/D4                           9.71
LA CROSSE 4NNW                      9.61
TREMPEALEAU 1.8NW                   9.61
TREMPEALEAU L/D6                    9.53
SPARTA                              9.25
BLACK RIVER FALLS 1.7NNE            8.81
READSTOWN                           8.57
VIROQUA                             8.52
LA CROSSE MUNI AIRPORT              8.49
LA CROSSE NWS                       8.45
HOLMEN 2S                           8.44
ONALASKA 1.6NW                      8.41
MATHER 3NW                          8.34
BLACK RIVER FALLS SWG               8.28
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN                    8.18
NEILLSVILLE 3SW                     8.08
MONDOVI                             7.83
MELROSE 8.2SSW                      7.74
LYNXVILLE L/D9                      7.43
GAYS MILLS                          7.31
CASHTON 4.8N                        7.23
LA FARGE                            7.10
WILTON 4.2E                         7.05
READSTOWN 4NE                       6.98
SOLDIERS GROVE                      6.84
ONTARIO                             6.78
GENOA L/D8                          6.60
BOSCOBEL                            6.38
LANCASTER                           6.34
OWEN 3W                             6.28
RICHLAND CENTER                     6.13
MEDFORD                             6.00
MAUSTON 1SE                         5.81
LANCASTER 4WSW                      5.67
NECEDAH 5WSW                        5.34
GAYS MILLS                          5.14
FRIENDSHIP                          4.97

Posted under rainfall amounts

So far June has been a little kinder to us than May as each day has featured at least a decent window of sunshine and even the rain we’ve seen has been fairly light.  May, on the other hand, certainly did feature a ridiculous amount of rainfall and even quite a dumping of snow!  Looking back at some of the specific statistics from the month, we can see that a record 12.26″ of rainfall was measured in the month, shattering the previous record of 8.41″ in 1899.  Another rainfall record that was obliterated was the spring rainfall total as 21.90″ of rain was registered between March 1 and May 31st, surpassing the previous record of 15.99 set in 1888. 

Temps were slightly below normal while precipitation was far above normal. Rochester registered records for both rainfall and snowfall in May of 2013.

Looking ahead at our upcoming days and weeks, there are going to be several chances for rain, but right now severe weather isn’t in the near term forecast and rainfall amounts look to be relatively light, so there is still an improvement in our weather from May even though we can’t seem to find a much needed stretch of sunshine in the forecast.

Posted under climate

If may followed suit with whole March thing, it would have started like a lion and ended like a lion.  What a CRAZY month!  It is now over and as most of us went out with a bang on the last day of May.  In some spots, damage was left behind, but before, during, and after the storm some pretty awesome pictures were sent to us.  After the skies cleared from the storms a another storm was going on high in the atmosphere that sparked the northern lights.  As always if you have any photos send them to weather@kttc.com.  Thanks to everyone who sent in pictures!

Posted under Uncategorized