CANADIAN HI AND GOODBYE

What a week in the Twin Cities.  We had an estimated 164,000 people visiting for the All-Star game and weather that brought in record breaking cold.  National media in town jumped all over Minnesota, commenting on how it's always cold in Minnesota.  I saw one national reporter even wearing a scarf on-air!  Good grief, it's not THAT cold.  Nonetheless, we did have some of the coldest air overhead that we can get in July.

This week started on the cool side.  Monday afternoon we hit a high of only 65° and set a new record low maximum at MSP (previous record was 68 in 1884).  Tuesday was still cool, but as high pressure started moving in, we saw more sunshine which lead to a pleasant afternoon, just in time for the All-Star baseball game at Target Field.

The high pressure responsible for the beautiful afternoon Wednesday, originated from Canada.  Normally during the winter time when a Canadian air-mass moves in it's bundle up-stay inside-school canceling-c-c-c-old!  But not during the summer months.  When high pressure moves in from Canada, it gives us a short break from the heat and humidity and brings in pleasant highs in the 70s.

As we head into the weekend, the Canadian air-mass will be saying good-bye as it moves east.  Our mid and upper level winds weaken a bit and move north, allowing unseasonably warm temperatures to move in through the middle of next week.  This bulge in the winds is a result of a sub-tropical high moving over the Eastern Rockies.  In addition to the heat, we'll see humidity also on the rise.

This type of weather pattern has been a long time coming.  While common in the summer, it has not happened yet this year.    Have you notice lake temperatures been rather chilly?  Well, they have.  In fact, Lake Superior still has many buoy readings in the 30s!  A nice stretch of hot air will help to alleviate the chill.

So we go from one extreme to another.  Record setting cold and reporters wearing scarfs to some major heat and temperatures in the 90s all week (maybe even higher).  Before the weekend hits, you might want to start planning on that getaway to a lake or beach.  Or, if you have a boat and plan on being out, give me a call!