Cracks of Thunder Welcome Summer Solstice

Shelf Cloud Seen Thursday Night A line of thunderstorms rumbled through the Twin Cities on Thursday evening with areas of heavy rain and gusty winds. The picture below was taken as the line was moving through the NW Metro. This "Shelf Cloud" feature is typically associated with the leading edge of gusty winds and heavy rains. Thankfully, there wasn't any major wind damage that reported as the storms moved through. (Image Courtesy: Todd Nelson) Severe Risks on Saturday & Sunday According to NOAA's SPC, there is risk of a few strong storms around the region this weekend.Sunday could bring a better chance of strong to severe storms closer to home, but mainly across the southwestern part of the state where a MARGINAL Risk has been issued in dark green. Weather Outlook Through AM Monday.

Here's the simulated radar from AM Saturday to AM Monday, which shows a fairly unsettled weekend shaping up. I don't think it'll be a complete washout across the state, but there will be times of showers and storms, some of which could be heavy at times.

Weekend Rainfall Potential

Here's NOAA's WPC rainfall potential through AM Monday. Again, I don't think the weekend will be a washout, but there will be a few showers and storms across parts of the region with some of the heaviest rain possible across the southeastern part of the state. Some locations could see up to 1" of rain or more.

Weekend Weather Outlook

Here's the weather outlook this weekend for the Twin Cities, which shows somewhat unsettled weather lingering into Monday. Note that the average temp for this time of the year is around 80F, so we'll be pretty close to where we should be. The other good news is that it won't be terribly windy this weekend either!

Saturday Weather Outlook for Minneapolis

Here's the weather outlook for Saturday, which looks a bit unsettled, especially during the afternoon. Winds look to be fairly light through the day as temps warm into the mid/upper 70s. Saturday Meteograms for Minneapolis

Here are a few meteorograms for the Twin Cities on Saturday. Temps will warm into the 70s through much of the day with a chance of showers and storms, mainly during the afternoon. Dewpoints won't be too sticky either only warming into the upper 50s. Winds should be fairly light through the day as well with northeastly winds gusts approaching 10mph to 15mph at times.

Saturday UV Index The UV Index will be considered HIGH around midday Saturday, which means that it will only take about 20 minutes or less to get a sunburn on exposed skin. Make sure to have the SPF handy!

Mild & Somewhat Unsettled Saturday Ahead

Here's a preview of high temps acros the region on Saturday, which shows readings warming to near average! Much of the state will see highs in the 70s, which will actually be at or slightly below average for the middle part of June.

Moderate Drought in Minnesota; First Time Since October 2018 The latest US Drought Monitor from last week showed Moderate Drought conditions now in place across parts of the state for the first time since October 23rd, 2018! Note that some locations within the moderate drought are nearly -3" to -6" or more below average since January 1st. Meanwhile, after recent rains in the Twin Cities, MSP is now nearly +1.5" above average!

7 Day Forecast for the Twin Cities Here's the weather outlook over the next 7 days, which shows temps running pretty close to average over the next several days. However, temps could be quite a bit cooler by the end of the week with readings only warming into the 60s... Stay tuned. Meanwhile, there could a fairly active weather pattern ahead with a chance of showers and storms just about each day during the last full week of June next week.

Extended Temperature Outlook

Here's the extended temperature outlook through the end of June and into the early part of July. Thankfully, we'll have a bit of break from the extreme heat over the next few days as highs warm into the 70s and 80s. However, the extended GFS outlook suggests that we could have several days in the 90s as we get into early July.

100F Days at MSP The last time we hit 100F was in Minneapolis on May 28th, 2018 (which was over the 2018 Memorial Day Weekend) and we haven't hit it since. Since 2000, the average first 100F day is on July 6th. Extended Temperature Outlook According to NOAA's CPC, the extended temperature outlook from June 27th to July 3rd shows cooler than average temps across the Northwest, while much of the rest of the nation will be warmer than average, including much of Minnesota and Wisconsin. _______________________________________________________________________ Cracks of Thunder Welcome Summer Solstice By Paul Douglas

"Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August," wrote Jenny Han. We can all use a little magic these days. Welcome Summer Solstice! Today is the longest daylight of the year (15 hours, 37 minutes). Yes please.

Unlike last year, when it wouldn't stop raining, the sun has been out much of June. Temperatures at MSP are 6F warmer than average, and according to Dr. Mark Seeley, the Twin Cities have experienced wind gusts over 30 mph a total of 17 days in June. Sunburnt and windblown is a pretty good look, right?

A wrinkle of unnecessarily chilly air aloft ignites a few showers and thunderstorms later today - again PM hours Sunday. If you want to increase your odds of a dry outdoor event, schedule it morning or midday. Cool, Canadian exhaust keeps highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s much of next week, but models suggest heat and storms return within a week.

June has brought 5 days of 90-degree heat in the Twin Cities. That's more 90s than we saw all of last summer! _____________________________________________

Extended Forecast

SATURDAY: AM sun, PM Storms Winds: N 7-12. High: 77.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Chance of showers and thunderstorms. SSE 10-15. Low: 58.

SUNDAY: Ditto. Dry start, PM showers & storms. Winds: SW 7-12. High: 81.

MONDAY: Mostly cloudy, breezy and cool. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 62. High: 75.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, stray PM shower? Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 58. High: 72.

WEDNESDAY: Morning sun, PM clouds & showers. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 55. High: 71.

THURSDAY: More sunshine & warmer. Winds: NW 5-10. Wake-up: 57. High: 81.

FRIDAY: Windy & humid. Nighttime thunder. Winds: SE 10-20. Wake-up: 61. High: 83.

This Day in Weather History June 20th

1992: Abnormally cold conditions occur across the north. Temperatures drop to 26 at Embarrass, MN and Hayward, WI, but the cold spot is 24 at Brimson, MN.

Average High/Low for Minneapolis June 20th

Average High: 80F (Record: 98F set in 1933) Average Low: 61F (Record: 41F set in 1992)

Record Rainfall: 1.92" set in 1927 Record Snowfall: None

Sunrise/Sunset Times for Minneapolis June 20th

Sunrise: 5:27am Sunset: 9:03pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 37 minutes

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: ~ 2 seconds Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 6 hours & 51 minutes

Moon Phase for June 20th at Midnight 0.0 Days Since New Moon

What's in the Night Sky?

"Image below: The path of the sun across our sky – from about noon to sunset – during the days of the equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. Photographer Marcella Giulia Pace made these observations from Gatto Corvino village, Sicily, Italy. Read more about this photo, which was the Earth Science Picture of the Day for March 18, 2020, via USRA. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, this solstice signals the beginning of summer. For the Southern Hemisphere, winter starts at this solstice. This 2020 June solstice takes place on Saturday, June 20, at 21:44 UTC; translate UTC to your time. In North America and U.S. time zones, that’s June 20 at 6:44 p.m. ADT, 5:44 p.m. EDT, 4:44 p.m. CDT, 3:44 p.m. MDT, 2:44 p.m. PDT, 1:44 p.m. AKDT (Alaskan Daylight Time) and 11:44 a.m. HAST (Hawaiian-Aleutian Standard Time). At that instant, the sun reaches its most northerly point in our sky. And, at that instant, it’s sunrise for the Hawaiian Islands, and sunset in the Middle East and Africa. It’s noon in South America and midnight in eastern Asia. The solstice happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth; only our clocks and calendars are different.

Keep reading for some quick info that’ll help you connect with nature at this June solstice 2020."

See more from Earth Sky HERE:

(Image Credit: EarthSky.org)

National Weather Outlook Here's the national weather outlook through the weekend, which shows fairly active weather in the Central US. Areas of showers and storms, some of which could be strong to severe with heavy rain, could make for somewhat of a wet weekend there. Meanwhile, folks in the Southwest will remain hot and dry. 7 Day Precipitation Outlook According to NOAA's WPC, several inches of heavy rain could fall across the Plains and Central US over the next 7 days. Note that some of the heavy rains could reach as far and southeast Minnesota and into Wisconsin. Severe Threat on Sunday & Monday Here's the Severe Weather Outlook for Saturday and Sunday and it appears that several areas in the Central US could be under the gun for severe weather potential this weekend. On Saturday, the best potential of severe weather will be across the Dakotas, while the best severe threat on Sunday will be found across the Central Plains. 2020 Tornado Reports So Far According to NOAA's SPC, there have been 796 tornado reports across the country so far this year, which is quite a bit less than it was at this time last year (1,198). Note that the short-term average (since 2005) is around 922 tornado reports through early June. Severe Weather Probabilities in Early June

Here's the severe weather probabilities for mid/late June, which shows a better chance of severe weather over the Central Plains, Mid-Atlantic States and Ohio Valley. However, note that severe weather chances continue to creep north into the Upper Mississippi Valley.

Climate Stories

(Image Credit: NOAA Satellite) "Are Meteorologists Scientists Or Not?"

"Most days I go about my business with no intention of putting on my Forbes Contributor hat. This morning Twitter triggered the need for an article. A colleague, Natasha Ramsahai, posted on Twitter about diversity representation of TV meteorologists in Canada. Her main point was that, for many people, the television meteorologist is the only scientist someone in the public encounters on a daily basis. Oddly, this triggered a rather provocative comment that meteorologists are not scientists. The premise of the argument, albeit an isolated one, was that someone is only a “scientist” if they are studying the natural environment, publishing in the peer review literature, or has a doctorate. Typically, I would not burn valuable “thinking cells” responding to one person’s opinion. However, as a meteorologist, I felt this could be a teachable moment to answer the question, “Are meteorologists scientists or not?”

See more from Forbes HERE:

"EXPLORING THE MOON'S INKY BLACK CRATERS… BY THE LIGHT OF THE EARTH"

"It's weird to think that there's water ice on the Moon. But it's there. Scientists started to suspect it existed before the turn of the century, though it was difficult to prove. In the 1990s several missions found key but circumstantial evidence for it, in 2009 strong evidence was found, and then in 2018 it was confirmed. Where is this ice? At the lunar poles, in craters so deep that the low-angle sunlight never touches their bottoms. These areas are called permanently shadowed regions, or PSRs. If you were standing in such a PSR, you'd never see the Sun; it doesn't get high enough above the horizon and, more importantly, above the crater's rim. Places like these remain a chilly -160°C (-260°F)."

See more from SyFy HERE:

"Clean Energy Capacity Grew at a Record Pace in 2019, U.N. Report Finds. But it Needs to Grow Even Faster"

"The world’s renewable power capacity grew at a faster rate last year than ever before, while the cost of adding new capacity fell to a record low, says a U.N. Environment Program report released June 10. Researchers found that in 2019, governments and companies created 184 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power capacity --12% more than was added in 2018. That increase came despite investment in the sector rising by just 1%, to $282.2 billion, meaning clean power capacity was cheaper to create per watt. (The report does not include the older technology of large hydropower dams because such projects are not subject to the same market dynamics as newer renewable sources, and their long development-time scales make investments hard to measure precisely.)"

See more from Time HERE:

"The Iciest Waters Around Antarctica Are Less Icy"

"An unusual combination of events caused the Weddell Sea to lose more sea ice than in recent years. The sea ice that surrounds Antarctica, like that in the Arctic, is seasonal: it increases in extent during the winter and largely melts in the summer. The exception has been the Weddell Sea, east of the Antarctic Peninsula, which retains much of its ice from year to year because of cold winds from the south and a circular current, or gyre, that keeps the ice from drifting into warmer waters that would cause it to melt more. That makes the Weddell an important area for species of penguins and seals and other creatures that prefer colder, icier conditions. But from 2016 to 2017, the Weddell had a sharp drop in sea ice coverage during the Southern Hemisphere summer compared with the previous summer. The loss was nearly 350,000 square miles, or about one-third of the recent average summer coverage. What’s more, that loss of sea ice has persisted, with only slight increases in coverage each summer since then."

See more from NY Times HERE:

"Futuristic Solar Plants Plagued by Glitches, Poor Training"

"The rush to complete concentrating solar power projects led to multiple reliability problems. A hectic pace of development spurred by expiring national and state incentive programs has caused multiple reliability problems among the world's most advanced solar energy plants, according to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Hurrying to complete plants and meet operational and financial deadlines often left crews assigned to operate the plants with too little training about how to deal with glitches. The sprawling facilities with mirrors arrayed in the shape of large circles are referred to as concentrating solar power (CSP) projects. Their mirrors and lenses capture high temperatures needed to efficiently produce or store electricity. Almost 100 of these plants have been built around the world."

See more from Scientific American HERE:

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

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