Isolated Storms Saturday - Drier, Sunnier Sunday

The low-pressure system that has been bringing us downpours the past few days is finally on the way out of the region heading into Saturday. However, cloud cover will stick around and a few wrap-around showers and storms will be possible in the afternoon. Morning temperatures start off in the low to mid-60s with highs climbing to the mid-70s.

The best chance of some of those wrap-around showers and thunderstorms will be across eastern and southern Minnesota Saturday, with sunnier skies as you head into northern/northwestern Minnesota. Highs will generally be in the 60s and 70s across the state - around average up north, but up to 10F degrees below average in southern Minnesota.

_______________________________________________

Sunnier and warmer temperatures are expected as we head into the second half of the weekend. Highs will climb into the 70s across the state, with some 80s possible across the metro and in western areas.

_______________________________________________

Isolated Storms Today - Drier, Sunnier Sunday
By D.J. Kayser, filling in for Paul Douglas

Why does it always seem to rain on weekends? Is it just that we notice it trying to muck up our plans? Even with the drier than average summer we've been having, since (and including) Memorial Day weekend we have observed measurable precipitation 9 out of the 12 weekends so far this summer at MSP. Yes, in most cases the rain that fell was of little consequence, with only two weekends seeing a total of at least a half an inch (and one of those is extending the Memorial Day weekend to include Monday).

Today could make it 10 out of 13, but shower and storm activity will be more isolated than it has been across the region the past few days. Sunday looks dry and seasonal for outdoor activities, and we'll keep it mainly dry with highs around average through the beginning of the week.

As we head toward the middle of next week, including around the start of the State Fair, the weather could get a little more active with more chances of showers and storms. Most of Thursday looks dry for the start of the fair, however, with highs around 80F.

_______________________________________________

D.J.'s Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SATURDAY: A PM shower or t-storm. Wake up 65. High 77. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind NE 5-10 mph.

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny and nice for late August. Wake up 60. High 80. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NE 3-8 mph.

MONDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. Wake up 63. High 82. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NE 3-8 mph.

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Late night shower? Wake up 64. High 82. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 3-8 mph.

WEDNESDAY: More clouds. A few showers around. Wake up 65. High 82. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

THURSDAY: Isolated storm or two to begin the fair. Wake up 65. High 80. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Mainly sunny. Storms overnight. Wake up 61. High 80. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind S 5-10 mph.

_______________________________________________

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
August 20th

*Length Of Day: 13 hours, 50 minutes, and 4 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 51 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 13 Hours Of Daylight?: September 6 (12 hours, 59 minutes, 29 seconds)
*When Does The Sun Start Rising At/After 7 AM?: September 22nd (7:00 AM)
*When Does The Sun Start Setting At/Before 8 PM?: August 26th (8:00 PM)

_______________________________________________

This Day in Weather History
August 20th

1904: Both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul are hit by tornadoes, producing the highest official wind ever recorded in Minnesota over one minute (110 mph in St. Paul).

_______________________________________________

On Saturday, heavy monsoonal showers and storms will continue across the Southwest, with some of that precipitation spreading into the Texas Panhandle later in the day. We are also tracking a stalled-out boundary with disturbances along it from the Southern Plains to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as a slow-moving area of low pressure in the upper Midwest with a frontal boundary extending south from it.

Heavy rain will spread from the Southwest to the Texas Panhandle through the weekend, with the potential of 3-5"+ in some locations. Heavier rain is also possible in the Southeast with some 3"+ tallies.

_______________________________________________

Iowa leads U.S. in wind generation added during second quarter

More from RadioIowa: "A new report shows Iowa led the nation in the amount of wind power that came online during April, May and June. Nearly 60% of the electricity being generated in Iowa comes from wind turbines and solar installations according to the Clean Grid Alliance. "The wind is at Iowans' backs is the message," said Jeff Danielson, a vice president for the Clean Grid Alliance. Iowa has a trifecta when it comes to so-called clean energy, according to Danielson. "The future is bright and our batteries are charged up and ready to go because both solar and investment and battery storage investment — Iowa is an attractive place for investment in those two as well," he said."

Chevron Jumps Into Texas' News Desert With Stories About Puppies, Football, and Oil

More from Gizmodo: "At first glance, the story looks like something your aunt might post on her Facebook from her local newspaper. "Midland County judge 'pardons' jaywalking puppy," the headline reads, with a photo of a startled-looking Pomeranian behind a microphone, seemingly on a witness stand. The post details how a Texas judge found a dog underneath his truck in the parking lot of his courthouse and used social media to find the owner. But the piece isn't a quirky feel-good story from a local paper. According to data hidden on the site but provided in the site's social preview cards, the puppy article is written by Mike Aldax, a man who lives more than 1,000 miles away from Midland. The entire site is bankrolled by oil giant Chevron; since 2014, Aldax, who works at San Francisco-based public relations firm Singer Associates, has also written for a Chevron-funded newspaper in California called the Richmond Standard."

Bill Gates' nuclear startup wins $750M, loses sole fuel source

More from Canary Media: "Nuclear fission startup TerraPower, founded and chaired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has raised $750 million to develop advanced nuclear reactors to serve as alternatives to the light-water reactors that make up the vast majority of the world's civilian nuclear fleet. But cash alone won't be enough to get the startup over the many hurdles that stand in its way. TerraPower's Natrium fast reactor design is radically different from the design of traditional nuclear reactors. For starters, it's smaller. A typical reactor in the U.S. produces 1,000 megawatts of power. TerraPower's first demonstration reactor, now being planned for a site in Wyoming, will have a capacity of 345 megawatts. The smaller size could enable the reactor to be built cheaply in a factory and not expensively on-site."

_______________________________________________

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