A Few Rumbles Up North For The Minnesota Fishing Opener

We once again saw numerous rounds of severe storms across the state Thursday into Thursday Night, including morning hailers in central Minnesota and a derecho - a long-lived line of storms with destructive winds - moving into the state from the southwest during the evening hours. You can click here to see this map yourself and click on the storm reports to see what was reported in your area. The Minnesota DNR is keeping an updated page with the latest from NWS surveys around the area and other details of the event - you can find that by clicking here. 94 mph wind gusts were reported at Madison and Verndal, which the DNR notes: "were the highest measured gusts in Minnesota since July 6, 2014, when a sensor at Browns Valley recorded a 98 mph gust."

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Not only did we see those multiple rounds of severe weather move through the state on Thursday but we also saw records! MSP set a record high of 92F, beating the previous record of 90F in 1900 and 1961. Rochester also saw a record high of 94F, with many more record highs out eastward into Wisconsin and southwest toward Huron and Sioux Falls.

With the heavy rain, we also saw record rainfall with St. Cloud picking up over 2" of rain, setting a new record for the day. International Falls also saw record rain.

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With multiple days of heavy rain and severe weather, we have seen lots of rain across the state. Just since Sunday 5.60" of rain has fallen at the St. Cloud airport (located on the southeast side of town).

This heavy rain, especially up north, has led to numerous flooding scenes. This photo, from Bryan Hansel, shows the water from the Cascade River at the top of the Highway 61 bridge.

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Just in time for the Fishing Opener, we are seeing a lot more ice outs being reported on northern Minnesota lakes. Ice out was reported on both upper and lower Red Lake as of Tuesday. Lake Vermilion reported ice out on the lake on Wednesday.

WDIO up in Duluth reported on Thursday that numerous lakes along the Gunflint Trail still had ice on them: "With Minnesota Fishing Opener two days away, it'll be tough to get boats on lakes up the Gunflint Trail. Many are still fully ice-covered as of Thursday afternoon. Ben Seaton, manager at Hungry Jack Outfitters and Cabins, said they are fielding a lot of calls right now. "People are curious as to, is their canoe trip in jeopardy or not?" he said. While the north side has some open water, the southern portion of Hungry Jack Lake is still iced up. "Contrary to popular belief that you can paddle around everything, there isn't really a way to get around any lake up here," Seaton said."

The Lake of the Woods fishing report, from Tuesday, reported: "On the south end… The ice is deteriorating and moving around on the big body of water called Big Traverse Bay. Will it all be gone by the Saturday, May 14th Minnesota Fishing Opener? Time will tell, but there is already plenty of prime open water to fish nonetheless."

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As we head into the Minnesota Fishing Opener on Saturday, we will be watching the chance of a few showers across northern Minnesota through the day, with maybe a rumble or two of thunder in the afternoon across eastern Minnesota (particularly in the Arrowhead and Southeastern Minnesota).

As you head out onto the lake to get your walleye, morning temperatures Saturday will be in the 40s and 50s across the state.

We'll watch those shower and storm chances across northern Minnesota on Saturday, with sunnier skies as you head south. Highs in far northwestern Minnesota and near Lake of the Woods will be in the 50s, quickly climbing into the 70s as you head farther south and east.

Highs on Saturday across southern and eastern Minnesota will be several degrees above average, but they'll stay slightly below as you head into northwestern parts of the state.

We will also watch breezy conditions across the state on Saturday, out of the southerly to westerly direction sustained at 5-15 mph but gusting to 25 mph in southern Minnesota and 30-35 mph in northern parts.

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Loop: Sunday 7 AM to 7 PM

As we watch another frontal boundary move across the state Sunday some showers and thunderstorms will be possible at times statewide.

It'll be another nice start temperature-wise on Sunday morning with temperatures near 40F in far northern Minnesota and in the 50s across southern parts.

So we'll watch those shower and storm chances on Sunday with temperatures a few degrees cooler than Saturday to get out on the lake. Highs will range from the 50s up by Lake of the Woods to the low 70s across southern Minnesota lakes.

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So while the Twin Cities will stay in the 70s for highs this weekend, we'll see slightly cooler temperatures move in early next week with highs only in the 60s. Besides the scattered rain chances this weekend (particularly Sunday), we'll watch the chance of a few thunderstorms from Tuesday Night into Thursday (with the best chance on Thursday).

And as we look at the extended outlook, there's a chance we could pop into the 80s late next week into early next weekend, otherwise through the majority of the last two full weeks of May highs look to be in the 60s and 70s.

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Cooler and Quieter Weather Pattern Returns
By Paul Douglas

Thursday's "derecho", a boomerang-shaped swarm of severe storms, tracked from Nebraska to Minnesota, with at least 55 reports of 75 mph+ winds. Straight-line wind damage can rival that of a tornado, and the combination of wind and large hail creates a battering-ram of ice; a 1-2 punch. Many towns picked up 2-3 week's worth of rain this week. The drought is over!

Cool exhaust on the backside of Thursday's volatile front drops humidity levels the next few days. Expect sunshine much of today with 70s in the metro; 60s up north with a fleeting instability shower or two. Sunday will be a few degrees cooler; jacket-worthy on your favorite lake. But not too bad for a Minnesota Fishing Opener.

No big storms; certainly nothing severe as our pattern cools and dries. Good news for farmers hoping to get out into soggy fields.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SUNDAY: A few clouds, cooler breeze. Wake up 54. High 69. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind W 10-20 mph.

MONDAY: Partly sunny, comfortably cool. Wake up 51. High 67. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: Some sun, nighttime shower? Wake up 47. High 63. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Patchy clouds, quiet. Wake up 50. High 68. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 7-12 mph.

THURSDAY: Milder with PM T-storms. Wake up 54. High 80. Chance of precipitation 70%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
May 14th

*Length Of Day: 14 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds
*Daylight GAINED Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 19 seconds

*When Do We See 15 Hours Of Daylight: May 19th (15 hours, 0 minutes, 10 seconds)
*When Is The Sunrise At/Before 5:30 AM?: May 30th (5:30 AM)
*When Is The Sunset At/After 9 PM?: June 12th (9:00 PM)

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2013: Minneapolis sets a record high temperature of 98 degrees, breaking the previous record of 95 set in 1932.

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On Saturday, a system in the Pacific Northwest will bring the chance of some rain and higher elevation snow. A somewhat stalled boundary from the Great Lakes across the Mississippi Valley will bring shower and storm chances, some of which could be strong. Shower and storm chances will also occur across much of the eastern United States.

The heaviest rain through Sunday evening looks to fall in the Pacific Northwest where rainfall tallies up to 3" will be possible. Some of the mountains in the Northwest could also see some snow.

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More from People: "Early in his presidency, Donald Trump reportedly asked national security officials multiple times about the existence of weaponized, man-made hurricanes from China. Two unnamed former senior administration officials and a third person briefed on the matter told Rolling Stone that Trump brought up a supposed secret technology that would allow China to create sizable hurricanes on command and launch them at the U.S. The former president asked about it repeatedly during his first year in office, according to the report. The question came up sporadically until at least 2018, before Trump stopped inquiring about what some began calling "Hurricane Guns" or merely joking about it."

Iowa's air pollutants nosedive in last 20 years

More from Axios: "Iowa's air pollutant levels have fallen by more than 40% in the last two decades and overall air quality has improved, according to data from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide — gasses that can be toxic — are down more than 70% since 2002."

Mary Barra's 'Long Game': Winning the E.V. Race

More from the New York Times: "General Motors made a splash last year when it announced a bold plan to ramp up sales of electric vehicles and said it would stop making gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. But more than a year later, some other automakers appear better positioned to lead the industry's transition to E.V.s. Tesla had global sales of more than 310,000 electric cars in the first quarter of this year, while G.M. is far behind unless it counts E.V.s made by its Chinese joint ventures. It sold fewer than 500 E.V.s in the United States in the quarter. Ford Motor has just started production of an electric F-150 pickup truck and has taken customer reservations for more than 200,000 of them."

Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

- D.J. Kayser