Another Nice Sunday. Storms Overnight. Cooler Monday

Last Weekend of Meteorlogical Summer Believe it or not, we've come to the end of Meteorological Summer. This is the final weekend of August and the final weekend of Meteorological Summer. September 1st is next Tuesday, which marks the first day of Meteorological Fall. With that said, enjoy the milder weather while you can now, continued cool weather isn't far away. (Image Courtesy: @TNelsonWX) Sunday Weather Outlook for MSP Sunday will be another sunny and comfortable day with highs warming into the upper 70s, which is pretty close to average for the end of August. The only fly in the perverbial oinment maybe the wind, which could gust up to 15mph to 20mph at times.

Sunday Meteograms for Minneapolis

Temps and dewpoints will be in the comfortable range on Sunday. High temps will only warm into the mid and upper 70s, which will be pretty close to average. Dewpoints will also be in the 50s, which will also be quite comfortable. South to southeasterly winds will be a bit breezy at times, gusting close to 15-20mph during the afternoon.

Daily Dewpoints Next Several Days

Dewpoints over the next several days will be quite comfortable with readings in the 50s. It may feel quite a bit more like Fall over the next few days.

MN DNR Fall Color Report!!

Believe it or not, but the MN DNR has started their Fall Color Report map for the 2020 season and it appears that a few spots in the Arrowhead and Western MN are reporting 0% to 10% fall color.

See more from the MN DNR HERE:

Typical Fall Color Peak

According to the MN DNR, here is the typical peak of fall color across state. Note that fall colors typically peak across the international border mid to late September, which is only a few weeks away. Meanwhile, peak color in the Twin Cities metro generally isn't until around MEA Weekend.

Thunderstorm Potential Late Sunday

According to NOAA's SPC, there is a chance of thunderstorms late Sunday across far western MN. Some of the storms could be strong to severe across the Dakotas, which could drift into MN overnight into the early morning hours of Monday.

T-Storms Rumble In Sunday Night

Here's the weather outlook from AM Saturday to AM Monday, which shows a very quiet Sunday on tap. Our next best chance of storms arrives overnight Sunday into early Monday morning.

Rainfall Potential Through PM Monday

Here's NOAA's WPC rainfall potential, which shows rain chances possible across much of the state. However, most of the heavy reain potential will be found across the NW part of the state.

High Temps on Sunday

High temps on Saturday will be quite comfortable with high temps at or slighly below average.

Even Cooler Monday After the shower and thunderstorms chance of Sunday night, temps will be quite a bit cooler on Monday with highs only warming into the 60s and lower 70s. Note that this will be temps will be nearly -5F to -10F below average for this time of the year. Somewhat Soggy August So Far (For Some) It's been a wet month (for some) across the state, especially the northern half of the state, where some locations have seen more than 4" to 5" of rain! Note that St. Cloud has had more than 5" of rain this month, which is more than 2" above average. Meanwhile, the Twin Cities has had nearly 3.5" of rain this month, which is pretty close to average. Drought Update The lastest update from the Drought Monitor still had parts of the state under moderate drought conditions. thanks to a wetter August across the northern half of the state, we've seen some improvement there, but it's been pretty dry for folks in the southeastern part of the state, so moderate drought has popped up there. Interestingly, Duluth, MN is more nearly 7" below average. 7 Day Forecast for Minneapolis Here's the extended outlook through the last few days of August and into the early part of September. Note that highs will only be in the 70s, which will be closer to if not even slighly below average. Temps may only warm into the 60s for a few locations on Friday, which will be well below average for the early part of September. Extended Temperature Outlook

Here's the extended outlook into the early part of September, which shows temperatures closer to average over the next several days. The first full week of September could be quite chilly with highs only in the 60s. Stay tuned...

Extended Temperature Outlook

According to NOAA's CPC, the extended temperature outlook from September 6th to 12th shows cooler than average temperatures across much of the Central US including Minnesota. _______________________________________________________________________ Winter Outlook Shrouded in Mystery By Paul Douglas

"Never make predictions, especially about the future" mused New York baseball player and manager, Casey Stengel.

Winter hasn't been postponed. The extended outlook calls for less gardening and more skidding. The Farmer's Almanac is calling for snowier than usual for the Upper Midwest, and that's interesting, from a tabloid weather perspective. Just because we want to know doesn't mean we have the science to predict 3-6 months into the future.

Where will the stock market be in February? When will we get a safe and effective vaccine? We can speculate until the cows come home, but it's probably a waste of brain-cycles.

NOAA has issued a La Nina Watch, calling for a 60 percent probability of a cool cycle in the Pacific Ocean, which often correlates with colder winters east of the Rockies. We'll see.

A fine Sunday gives way to showery rain tonight. I see more cool fronts than warm fronts on my maps, and the second week of September may be MUCH cooler than normal. Almost time to try on sweatshirts? Yep. _____________________________________________

Extended Forecast

SUNDAY: Mild sun. Showers tonight. Winds: S 10-20. High: 79.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Chance of showers or storm overnight. Winds: SSE 10-15. Low: 60.

MONDAY: Wet start, then sunny and cooler. Winds: NW 10-15. High: 72.

TUESDAY: Breezy with lukewarm sunshine. Winds: SW 10-15. Wake-up: 56. High: 75.

WEDNESDAY: Plenty of warm sunshine and comfortable. Winds: W 8-13. Wake-up: 61. High: 80.

THURSDAY: Mix of clouds and sun. Cooler breeze. Winds: NW 10-20. Wake-up: 57. High: 72.

FRIDAY: Nice week continues. Mild sunshine.. Winds: SW 10-15. Wake-up: 55. High: 77.

SATURDAY: Patchy clouds. Warmer. Winds: SE 7-12. Wake-up: 55. High: 80.

This Day in Weather History August 30th

1977: Flooding occurs on the southwest side of the Twin Cities, with MSP Airport getting 7.28 inches of rain in 4 1/2 hours.

Average High/Low for Minneapolis August 30th

Average High: 78F (Record: 96F set in 1941) Average Low: 59F (Record: 45F set in 1974)

Record Rainfall: 7.28" set in 1977 Record Snowfall: None

Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis August 30th

Sunrise: 6:33am Sunset: 7:52pm

Hours of Daylight: ~13 hours & 19 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 2 minutes & 59 seconds Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 20th): ~ 2 hour & 25 minutes

Moon Phase for August 30th at Midnight 1.9 Days Until Full "Corn" Moon

"Sept. 2: Full Corn Moon - 12:22 a.m. CDT. Sometimes also called the Fruit Moon; such monikers were used for a Full Moon that occurs during the first week of September, so as to keep the Harvest Moon from coming too early in the calendar."

What's in the Night Sky?

"These next several evenings – August 27, 28 and 29, 2020 – watch for the waxing gibbous moon to pass by the two biggest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn. Both worlds are gas giants. Jupiter is bigger and by far the brighter planet, shining some eight times more brilliantly than Saturn. Yet the famous planet of the rings shines as brightly as the brightest stars. Just look up on these nights! You can’t miss these bright worlds near the moon. And notice how close together in the sky these two planets are. That’s because they’re headed for a great conjunction later this year. If you find them in the coming evenings, you’ll enjoy watching them for the remainder of 2020. Read more: Before 2020 ends, a great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn Jupiter ranks as the fourth-brightest celestial body to light up the heavens, after the sun, moon and the planet Venus. But there’s no way to mistake Venus for Jupiter, or vice versa, because – at present – Jupiter rules the evening sky while Venus is up at dawn. Around the world, in the wee hours of the morning, Jupiter sets in the southwest at roughly the same time that Venus rises in the northeast. Meanwhile, Saturn – the most distant word that you can see easily with the unaided eye – is twice as bright as the 1st-magnitude star Antares, Heart of the Scorpion. You might have seen the moon in the vicinity of Antares a few days ago."

See more from Earth Sky HERE:

(Image Credit: EarthSky.org)

National High Temps Sunday High temps across the nation on Saturday will still be quite hot across the Southern US, but it will be much cooler and quite a bit more comfortable across parts of the northern tier of the nation. Ongoing Wildfires in the Western US

Take a look at how many ongoing wildfires there are across the Western US. Of course it has been extremely hot and dry as of late, but recent thunderstorms have resulted in hundreds of new fires since last week. Cal Fire reports that since August, 15th, nearly 12,000 lightning strikes spawned nearly 600 new fires, which have charred nearly 1 million acres of land. Unfortunately there's no end in sight due to limited fire fires being stretched thin and elevated fire weather conditions continuing. Smoke from western wildfires looks to push south of Minnesota and Wisconsin, but I think it will make a return at some point over the coming days.

Currently Tropical Activity

Laura made landfall early last week as a Major Category 4 Hurricane with 150mph winds. The remnants of which are now over the Western Atlantic near the Mid-Atlantic States. There is still a low probability of tropical formation with the remnants of the storm as it moves into the Northcentral Atlantic. Meanwhile, there are 2 other systems brewing in the Atlantic Basin that will have to be monitored over the coming days.

Climate Stories

(Image Credit: NOAA Satellite) "Phoenix Has Record-Breaking Heat Wave with 50 Days of 110-Degree Weather"

"Phoenix, Arizona is in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave, hitting its 50th day this year with temperatures reaching 110 degrees or higher on Friday. Although scorchingly hot summer temperatures are common in the desert city, the current year has broken earlier records for consistently high temperatures by some distance. The previous record for the most days at 110 degrees or higher in one year was 33, which occurred in 2011. "It's not like we barely broke this record," National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch told The Arizona Republic. "We sort of obliterated it." One key factor in the heat increase is the area consistently experiencing high pressure weather systems over the summer. Hirsch told the paper that the heat wave was also due in part to the city going through an unusually dry summer, with less than 4 inches of rain recorded during the entire season, although storms are expected over the weekend and a flash flood watch has been issued in some areas."

See more from Newsweek HERE:

"How Three New Tools Will Revolutionize Our Understanding of the Sun"

"Two spacecrafts and a telescope are set to jumpstart a new age of solar astronomy. The sun may be our closest star but it has managed to keep a few big secrets hidden. Now a trio of solar telescopes are kicking off a new era of solar astronomy that has scientists excited about major potential discoveries. NASA's Parker Solar Probe is currently on its way to “touch” the sun--the spacecraft will make the closest orbit around Earth's nearest star, flying through the sun’s atmosphere, in 2025. The Solar Orbiter, a spacecraft launched as part of a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, will become the first mission to study the solar poles. Back on Earth, the National Science Foundation (NSF's) Daniel K. Inouye telescope will make the most detailed ground-based observations of the sun, providing broader context for the pair of satellites. "[These missions] will revolutionize solar physics during this decade," Yannis Zouganelis, deputy project scientist for the Solar Orbiter mission, writes in an email."

See more from Smithsonian Magazine HERE:

"2020’s “extremely active” hurricane season, explained"

"What’s up with all these hurricanes this year? Hurricane Laura has weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall Wednesday at Category 4 strength, bringing damaging rains and winds to the Gulf Coast and leaving at least six people dead in the US. Even before the storm reached US shores, it caused devastation in the Caribbean, killing people in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. It left hundreds of thousands without power and more than a million without clean drinking water. In the US, the storm has left behind expansive flooding, with water reaching up to 9 feet high. In Lake Charles, Louisiana, it triggered a chemical fire. Researchers expect Laura and its aftermath to be a multibillion-dollar disaster. And it’s hammering the United States as the country faces the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Laura is one of more than a dozen named Atlantic storms in what forecasters have described as an “extremely active” 2020 season. It follows hurricanes like Hanna and Isaias and gained steam alongside Marco. These storms brought torrential rainfall and spawned tornadoes. They have proven to be costly and deadly. Forecasters saw some of this coming, but even the experts had to revise their estimates upward for the number of storms this year. Warmer water and calm atmospheric conditions in the spring and summer over the North Atlantic Ocean have proven ideal conditions, not just to birth tropical cyclones, but to help them rapidly intensify."

See more from Vox HERE:

Use These Apps to See if Your Outside Air Quality Index Sucks"

"I’m writing this from lovely, sunny California--at least, I think it’s sunny, because smoke from the apocalypse wildfires around Silicon Valley has been billowing around the area for about a week or so. The quirky thing about this ecological disaster is that there are sometimes days of, “oh god the sun is red,” counterbalanced by, “I guess I could fit in my afternoon walk after all.” The easiest way to figure out air quality wherever you live is to stick your head outside. If it smells terrible, you’ll probably want to get a mask or stay indoors. If it smells joyful, you’re good to go on an adventure. What’s not so clear, though, are the fine lines that separate an unpleasant experience from a hazardous one. For that, you need someone else doing a more scientific measurement, the Air Quality Index:"

See more from Life Hacker HERE:

"Scientists Made an Alarmingly Easy Trip to the North Pole"

"At Earther, we’ve been following the historic extent of ice melt in the Arctic this summer pretty closely. But not as closely as Gunnar Spreen and his research team, who are literally following the ice. “We’re attached to an ice floe now,” he said on the phone from a research vessel called the Polarstern, which is currently at the latitude 88 degrees north, just under 150 miles (230 kilometers) from the North Pole. “We’re drifting with the ice. Wherever it goes, we go.” Spreen, a sea ice and remote sensing scientist at the University of Bremen, is taking part in a research expedition known as the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, or MOSAiC. It’s the largest Arctic research campaign in history, with some 500 scientists and staffers rotating on and off of the research vessel for months at a time. The current cohort boarded the Polarstern on August 12, and in just a week’s time, they made it to the North Pole. To get there, they took an unexpected route, north of Greenland."

See more from Earther HERE:

"Damage from whopper hurricanes rising for many reasons"

"Laura is poised to join a grim group: Powerful, destructive hurricanes like Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael and Dorian. A destructive storm is rising from warm waters. Again. America and the world are getting more frequent and bigger multibillion dollar tropical catastrophes like Hurricane Laura, which is menacing the U.S. Gulf Coast, because of a combination of increased coastal development, natural climate cycles, reductions in air pollution and man-made climate change, experts say. The list of recent whoppers keeps growing: Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael, Dorian. And hurricane experts have no doubt that Laura will be right there with them. It's a mess at least partially of our own making, said Susan Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Institute at the University of South Carolina."

See more from Tampa Bay Times HERE:

Thanks for checking in and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWX

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