The eye of Typhoon Mawar has passed just north of Guam, but the eyewall – the strongest part of the storm – is bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to the US territory. The strongest storm to impact Guam in decades, Mawar is pelting the entire 30-mile-wide island with hurricane-force winds. The Guam International Airport recorded sustained winds of 71 mph with a gust of 105 mph Wednesday evening. An extreme wind warning was in effect for the northern part of Guam until 10:45 p.m. (8:45 a.m. ET) for winds that could create tornado-like damage. The northern third of Guam, including the village of Yigo, is being battered by the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall as the storm moves northwest. "Mawar is now moving away from Guam," the National Weather Service in Guam said. The center of the storm was located 15 miles north-northeast of Guam and was moving northwest at a sluggish 8 mph, the latest tropical cyclone advisory said."

See more from CNN HERE:

After passing Guam earlier this week, Typhoon Mawar will make the long trek across the Western Pacific as it approaches Taiwan. Stay tuned...

The smoke map from Wednesday showed widespread smoke continuing across Canada and spilling into much of the Central US including the Upper Midwest. This will make for somewhat cloudy/hazy skies and poor air quality for some into the week ahead.

The smoke analysis by midday Thursday shows widespread smoke overhead across the Upper Midwest thanks to wildfires burning in Canada. This will make skies smoky and hazy through much of the day with unhealthy air qualities.

Our last full week of May looks somewhat tame across the Midwest through the first part of the week with mild and smokey sunshine. There could be a few stray t-showers here and there midweek, but there will be a better chance of more widespread rain and thunder across the Dakotas this upcoming weekend.

The precipitation outlook through mid-week doesn't appear to be all that impressive with some locations seeing 0.25" to 0.50" tallies across the northern part of the state. Much of southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities could be completely dry.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Thursday, May 25th shows another sunny and mild day with highs warming into the mid 70s. Thanks to Canadian wildfires, skies will be fairly smoky/hazy with some air quality concerns across parts of the state

Temps on Thursday will be nearly +5F to +10F above average across the region with highs warming mainly into the 70s & 80s. However, readings east of the Twin Cities will be quite a bit below average with winds coming off of the Great Lakes.

The hourly temps through the day Thursday show temps starting in the low/mid 50s in the morning and warming into the low/mid 70s by the afternoon. Skies will generally be sunny with southeasterly wind around 15mph to 20mph at times.

Temperatures on Thursday won't be quite as chilly as they were on Thursday with readings warming back into the mid 70s. A gradual warming trend takes us back into the 80s over the the long Memorial Day Weekend.

The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities looks mainly dry with a gradual warming trend back into the 80s over the weekend. Spotty showers and storms will be possible as we head into next week with higher humidity values.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows mid 70s returning on Thursday with a gradual warming trend into next week with highs approaching 90F.

A fairly large bubble of high pressure will settle in across the Great Lakes late this week, which will keep skies generally quiet. On the western edge of this high-pressure system, winds will turn more southerly and warm things up in the Midwest late week/weekend ahead.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows warmer-than-average temperatures settling in across the northern tier of the nation and especially across the Northern Plains to the Northern Rockies. Cooler than average temps will be in place across parts of the Southwestern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across The Plains and the Western US.

Hard to believe that it was only a month ago that we still had snow on the ground across parts of the metro. The last trace of snow melted at the MSP Airport on April 23rd. Now, the bees are buzzing and flowers are in bloom. Ahh, it's great to see green again!

According to the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities, there have only been 2 completely dry Memorial Day Weekends in the metro since 2000. Those years were 2003 and 2007. This year could be added to that short list as a large bubble of high-pressure anchors itself over the Midwest, keeping skies flawlessly dry through at least Sunday. Southerly winds develop later this, which will act like a heat pump with temps getting close to 90F by midweek next week. I suspect a number of A/C units will be humming by then.

The next best chance of a free lawn and garden watering doesn't arrive until sometime next week when the ridge of high pressure breaks down. Until then, enjoy this prelude to the Dog Days of summer with hazy sunshine at times. It's about as good as it gets!

THURSDAY: Breezy with hazy sunshine. Winds: SSE 10-20. High 74.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and quiet. Winds: SSE 10. Low: 52.

FRIDAY: Sunny. Risk of a mosquito or two. Winds: SSE 10-20. High 78.

SATURDAY: Ditto. Busy at the boat launch. Winds: SSE 10-20. Wake-up: 56. High: 81.

SUNDAY: Another dry and summerlike day. Winds: SSE 10-20. Wake-up: 57. High: 83.

MONDAY: Midday T-shower west. Otherwise dry. Winds: S 10-15. Wake-up: 61. High: 85.

TUESDAY: Dare I say Hot? PM thunder chance. Winds: SSW 10-15. Wake-up: 65. High: 88.

WEDNESDAY: Okay. It's hot. PM t-showers. Winds: WSW 5-10. Wake-up: 67. High 88.

May 25th

2008: An EF-3 tornado strikes Hugo, MN. 1 fatality and 9 injuries are reported.

May 25th

Average High: 72F (Record: 94F set in 1978)

Average Low: 53F (Record: 33F set in 1901)

Record Rainfall: 1.88" set in 1942

Record Snowfall: 0.1" set in 1925

May 25th

Sunrise: 5:34am

Sunset: 8:45pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 10 minutes

Daylight GAINED since yesterday: +1 Minute & 49 Seconds

Daylight GAINED since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 6 hour & 24 minutes

1.3 Days Before First Quarter Moon

Temperatures on Thursday will be very mild across the Intermountain-West, where readings will be nearly +5F to +15F above average. It'll be a little cooler in the Great Lakes but not too terribly cold.

The weather outlook on Thursday will be unsettled across the Plains with a few spotty t-storms.

The weather outlook through Friday shows spotty showers and storms developing across the Plains and also in the Southeastern US. There could be a few isolated strong to severe storms here and there, but it won't be too widespread.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier precipitation across parts of the Central Plains and also the Southeastern US. A few locations could see 1" to 3" of rain over the next several days.

"Lightning crackles to life and evolves on Jupiter the same way as it does on Earth, a new study finds. Jovian lightning, which occurs as frequently as the phenomenon does on Earth, was first spotted by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft over 40 years ago. Back then, the well-traveled probe picked up faint radio signals spanning several seconds — nicknamed whistlers — that are expected from lightning strikes. At the time, these bolts of electricity certified Jupiter to be the only other planet besides Earth known to flaunt lightning strikes. Their evolution on the gaseous world, however, has puzzled scientists for decades. Now, a team studying five years worth of data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has found that Jovian lightning takes place in the same "step-wise" way as it does on Earth. The new observations show that despite the two planets being polar opposites in their sizes and structures — our rocky planet is much smaller than Jupiter and has a solid surface, which the gas giant lacks — both host the same kind of electrical storms."

See more from Space.com HERE:

"For much of the last few decades, when the sky didn't produce enough water for his cows and crops, Dino Giacomazzi — like most farmers in California's southern Central Valley — pumped it from the earth. Underground aquifers, vast bank accounts of stored water, were drained. Now, after a historically wet winter, Giacomazzi and the state of California want to put some of that water back. "It is a no-brainer, win-win, multi-benefit opportunity," said Giacomazzi, standing on his Central Valley farm, which depends on groundwater to grow almonds, lettuce and tomatoes for pizza sauce. More water stored underground means fewer flooded farms, and more water available to farmers like him during the next inevitable drought."

See more from NPR.org HERE:

"The Great Smoky Mountains are wonders of nature. Thanks to my kids, I get to experience them at times. My daughter used to have volleyball tournaments in Sevierville, Tennessee, and this weekend, the family ventured to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for my son's basketball tournament. As we ventured back to Georgia through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I stopped to snap the photograph above. I literally said, "It took my breath away." My 16-year old had a different perspective. He said, "It didn't take mine away, can you get in the car." One day he will appreciate the beauty of nature over the urgency of getting home to play his video games. However, I digress. As a scientist and professor, I recognize a few atmospheric physics lessons in the Smokies."

See more from Forbes HERE: