Very pleasant weather is here

After a warm weekend that produced a few spotty showers and thunderstorms mainly across southern and eastern Minnesota, we started off the week with very pleasant weather.

Temperatures on Monday were generally in the the upper 70s and lower 80s statewide. Dew points on Monday were also in the upper 40s and lower 50s making for a very comfortable day.

Dew points will climb into the mid to upper 50s by Tuesday and into the lower 60s by Wednesday. We will start to fell a bit more humidity by the midweek. In addition, this could help produce a pop-up shower or stray thunderstorm on Wednesday.

Look for a warm-front to slide across the Upper Midwest over the weekend. There should be lots of upper 80s and even some 90s across parts of Minnesota both Saturday and Sunday. The winds will also pick-up over the weekend. We could see some wind gust to 30 mph at times due to a strong pressure gradient developing. 

Some spotty showers and isolated thunderstorms could once again pop-up in the afternoon heat both Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, it will be a fairly quiet period.

If you are sky watcher, on Wednesday the Big Dipper will swing around to ?Äúhang down by its handle?Äù high in the northwest during the evening. The middle star of its handle will be Mizar, with Alcor visible right next to it! This should be a fun sight for my wife, Tracey, on her birthday on Wednesday! 

Have a great rest of the week and stay cool this upcoming weekend!

Weather history: On this date in 1939, records show that ?Äúgrapefruit-sized hail?Äù fell in Rock County killing hundreds of farm animal near Hills, Minnesota.

Weather fact: Hail is ?Äúlarge, layered ice particles, often spherical in shape, which are produced by thunderstorms having strong, tilted updrafts.?Äù Hailstorms form within an ?Äúunusually unstable air mass.?Äù

Almanac:

Sunrise: 5:32 a.m.

Sunset: 9:09 p.m.

Normal High: 75

Normal Low: 54

Regional Temperatures:

Moorhead Low 58 High 80

Duluth Low 55 High 76

Central Minn. Low 58 High 79

Minneapolis Low 62 High 82

Marshall Low 61 High 83

Rochester Low 59 High 80

Wednesday: Partly to mostly cloudy, 20-percent chance of showers/T-storms. High 79 Low 59 Wind: SW 10-15 mph Prec. Trace-.20?Äù

Unseasonably warm weather will be with us for much of the weekend and into the weekend. We could see some lower 90s across parts of the region both Saturday and Sunday. With the warmer weather, some thunderstorms could pop-up in the afternoon heat along the way. It will also be breezy over the weekend.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 79 Low 56 Wind: NW 10-15 mph Prec. None

Friday: Partly cloudy. High 82 Low 59 Wind: ENE/SE 5-15 mph Prec. None

Saturday: Partly cloudy and warm, 20-peercent chance of showers and isolated T-storms. High 87 Low 69 Wind: SE 20-30 mph Prec. .10?Äù-.20?Äù

Sunday: Partly cloudy, 20-percent chance of rain and isolated thunderstorms. High 89 Low 63 Wind: SSW 20-30 mph Prec. .10?Äù-.20?Äù