Thanks to Mike Holisky for the picture below. Large hail fell across parts of the metro on Friday evening. Mike reported nearly golf ball size reports, but there were a couple reports of up to baseball size in the Twin Cities - YIKES!

It was a busy day across the county warning area with a number of severe weather reports. Large hail was one of the main concerns with some 3" diameter hail reports coming in near Dassel. There was a baseball size (2.75") report from Buffalo Lake, and several 2" to 2.5" reports in Minneapolis.

The weather outlook for the weekend ahead looks like a 50/50 split. Sunny and mild weather will take us through Saturday, but Sunday looks like a fairly soggy day with the potential of seeing some 1.00" plus rainfall tallies across parts of the state, especially north of the Twin Cities. Temperatures will also be quite a bit cooler with readings only warming into the 70s. Some folks across the northern part of the state will only make it into the 60s. Keep an eye out for any Perseid meteor showers early Saturday evening before the clouds rolls in.

"When, where & how to see it - The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best shooting star displays of the year and it's currently active. The Perseid meteor shower (also known as the Perseids) is active every year from mid-July to late August. This year the shower will peak around Aug. 13, 2023, according to skywatching site In The Sky, 2023 will be a good year for the Perseids as the moon will only be 10% illuminated. The Perseids are caused by Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle which last passed close to Earth in 1992. The Perseids peak when Earth passes through the densest and dustiest area on Aug. 11-12. Years without moonlight see higher rates of meteors per hour, and in outburst years (such as in 2016) the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour. On average, you can expect to see up to 100 meteors per hour during the Perseid's peak, according to NASA. In 2022, the Perseids were affected by the full moon illuminating the sky and washing out fainter meteors. However, this year the moon will provide minimal disturbance to the meteor shower as it will only be 10% illuminated during the time of the peak."

The simulated radar from AM Saturday to PM Sunday. Weather conditions on Saturday will be dry, but scattered showers and some storms will develop on Sunday with some soaking rains for a few locations.

Sunday could be a potentially soggy day with a million-dollar soaking for some, especially north of the metro. Some locations across the northern half of the state could see in excess of 1" of rain. The Twin Cities could see a decent amount of rain, but the heaviest looks to stay north.

It has been very dry across much of the region so far this summer with only 4.01" of rain falling at the MSP Airport since June 1st. That is more than -6.00" below average and is the 6th driest Meteorological Summer on record with the driest being 1.65" set in 1894. Interestingly, the last summer (2022) was just as dry.

The map below shows the 60 day precipitation anomaly, which indicates that some locations are nearly -3.00" to nearly -6.00" below average (in red/pink) since mid June. There are a few locations across the state that have surpluses, but most locations are well below average.

There wasn't much change in the drought from last week, but drought conditions have deepened since the beginning of summer. Some areas across the region are considered in an Extreme Drought showing up (in red). Interestingly, the last time that parts of Minnesota were in an Extreme Drought was back in mid December, nearly 7 months ago.

The hottest day of 2023 (so far) was Thursday, July 27th with a high of 96F and heat index values peaking around 105F to 110F. Uffda! There have been (23) 90F days this year. Our average number of 90F days is 14.

Looking at the last 30 years, the average number of 90F days at the MSP Airport is (14). July is the hottest month with an average of (6) 90F days. This year we've had (23) 90F days, last year we had (18) days in the 90s and in 2021 there were (27) days in the 90s. The most number of 90F days in any single year was (44) set in 1988.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Saturday, August 12th will be mild with temps warming into the mid 80s, which will be slightly above average for this time of the year. Skies will be sunny, but clouds will eventually roll in from the west late in the day in advance of our next storm system that will bring soggy weather to the region on Sunday.

Temps on Saturday will warm into the 80s across the southern half of the state, which will be a little above average for this time of the year. However, folks in the northern half of the state will only warm into the 70s, which will be a little below average. Much of the region will stay dry and sunny, but showers will move in from the west by Sunday.

The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis doesn't look too bad and certainly not hot heading into mid month. Saturday will be a dry and mild day with reading in the mid 80s, but soggy weather arrives Sunday with temps only warming into the mid 70s. Monday will be cooler with lingering showers and gusty NW winds. Dry weather returns Tuesday and Wednesday with near average temps.

The dewpoint forecast into the weekend and early next week will hover around the low/mid 60s, which will be a little sticky, but not too bad. It gets a little more comfortable as we head into the middle part of next week with readings around 60F.

After a sunny and mild Saturday, showers and storms push through the region on Sunday with locally heavy rainfall. Lingering showers are possible on Monday with temps still holding into the mid 70s. The middle part of next week looks better and brighter with temps warming back into the lower 80s. There could be an isolated t-storm chance late Wednesday with gusty winds developing through the 2nd half of the week.

Temps in the Twin Cities will be a little cooler Sunday and Monday with highs only warming into the 70s. Some folks across the northern half of the state won't even make it out of the 60s. We'll get a little boost mid-week next week with readings back in the 80s before a slightly warmer bump as we approach next weekend.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows Warmer than average temperatures across much of the nation, including the Midwest.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the Western US looks a little more unsettled as we approaching the back half of the month. Meanwhile, drier weather will settle in from Texas to the Ohio & Tennessee Valley.

Hey, is that a silver lining or am I still hallucinating? No comment. It has been a summer of smoke and drought. No big soaking storms, just at ease of flash and dash showers. Since May 1 St. Cloud has picked up only 4.7" rain, the driest such period on record - even drier than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

There is one faint positive: nagging drought has meant fewer sweaty, swampy days where you walk outside and it feels like you're stuck in a sauna. The metro area has picked up only 6 days with a dew point of 70For higher. In an average year MSP sees 19 drippy days with a dew point of 70+. Hey, it's a start.

Welcome to the sunnier day of the weekend with 70s north and mid 80s in the metro. The next (unusually strong for August) Alberta Clipper pushes a smear of showers and T-storms across the state Sunday, with temperatures in the 70s statewide, and cool 60s up north. Winds may gust to 40 mph Monday before the pattern mellows by midweek.

SATURDAY: Warm sun, lake-worthy. Winds: NW 10-20. High: 85.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Winds: NW 5-10. Low: 62.

SUNDAY: Mainly PM showers, T-storms. Winds: SE 10-20. High: 75.

MONDAY: Hello September. Wind-whipped showers. Winds: N 15-35. Wake-up: 61. High: 69.

TUESDAY: Sunny and warmer. Winds: W 8-13. Wake-up: 56. High 81.

THURSDAY: Showery and very windy. Winds: NW 20-40. Wake-up: 63. High 73.

FRIDAY: Sunny with less wind. Winds: W 8-13. Wake-up: 60. High 81.

August 12th

2000: Record-setting dew points develop in Minnesota. The Twin Cities have a dew point of 76, with a rare dew point of 80 at Faribault.

1821: An eight-day heat wave ends at Ft. Snelling. Temperatures were in the 90's each day.

Average High: 81F (Record: 94F set in 1886 & 1965)

Average Low: 64F (Record: 45F set in 1961)

Record Rainfall: 2.42" set in 1985

Record Snowfall: NONE

August 12th

Sunset: 8:24pm

Hours of Daylight: ~14 hours & 13 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 2 Minutes & 36 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 1 Hour & 24 Minutes

3.1 days before new moon

Temperatures on Wednesday will still be well above average across the Southern US with widespread record heat across Texas. It'll be a little cooler in the Western US and across the Central US, where areas of precipitation will be possible.

The weather outlook on Wednesday will feature showers and storms across parts of the Central US and down into the Southeast. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall.

The weather outlook through Thursday shows unsettled weather across the Central US. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavy rainfall will be possible from the Midwest to the Great Lakes over the next several days. We'll also see a decent rain blob across the Central US associated with some thunderstorm activity. Monsoon thunderstorms will continue in the Southwest, but Texas and the Pacific Northwest look to remain dry.

"The most intense space weather event of the past two decades hit GPS satellites' orbit just after a solar minimum. Mild solar storms can cause more serious problems to GPS satellites than once-in-a-century events, a new study has found. Storms that erupt from the sun create challenges for satellites in Earth's orbit. Scientists are trying to understand these events better to help operators protect their spacecraft. And sometimes, they find surprises. A new study by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered that satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS) orbit may suffer more from milder solar storms than from the frightening events that wreak havoc on power grids and telecommunication networks on Earth."

"For three weeks in July, the world's most elite bike racers climb steep mountains and sprint along historic cobblestones to capture the coveted yellow jersey or the race leader in the Tour de France. It's a 22-day feat of human endurance that requires constant eating and drinking to manage the average daily energy demand of about 6,000 calories, equivalent to around 12 McDonald's Happy Meals, and just over 1.5 gallons of water. Nearly 5,000 miles away in the mountains of North America, radios crackle with chatter from a wildfire incident command post, air operations and other crews fighting a wildfire. Up the fireline, the swings of Pulaskis, axlike hand tools, are carving a fuel break into the land. The weather forecast predicts a high of nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C) with wind, a combination that can push the fire high up into the canopy of dense lodgepole pines on the mountainside. The yellow jerseys here are sooty, sweat-stained and flame-resistant, with a strong, earthy odor."

See more from The Conversation HERE:

"World's largest freshwater wind farm Windpark Fryslân began construction in 2020, and, by the fall of 2021, was already generating power. In 2022, the wind farm generated 1.236 terawatt hours. And its builders anticipate it will reach 1.5 terawatt hours every year. That's roughly 1.2 percent of the all the electricity used in the Netherlands. It's enough to power around 500,000 homes. Constructing the wind farm Constructing a wind farm in a lake (Lake IJssel in the central Netherlands) was challenging, to say the least. But the Netherlands has experience with building dikes and dams for flood control. One of the companies that helped build the wind farm, Van Oord, said: A major constraint was the size of ships that could be used to transport construction materials and turbine components to the site. The vessels had to both fit through the locks in the dike and operate in the shallow waters of the lake. In addition, installing the rotors, which are 130 meters (430 feet) in diameter, required finding windows of relative calm in a naturally windy place."

See more from Earth Sky HERE: