Unstable air lingers, bringing a few showers

Nearly 1,000 tornadoes have been observed in the U.S. so far in 2024, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. It’s the most since 2011, when 1,768 tornadoes touched down. Despite Doppler radar and better warning technology, people are still dying, especially at night when tornadoes are even more dangerous. People are sleeping and twisters are harder to see.

The U.S. sees more twisters than any other nation on Earth, a function of our geography and the Rockies running north-south. If they ran east-west across the central U.S. (like the Alps in Europe) terrain might mute the extreme temperature contrasts necessary for tornadic storms.

Unstable air responsible for Monday’s storms lingers Tuesday, squeezing out a few more showers. Expect blue sky Wednesday and much of Thursday, but every two to three days another sloppy front or agitated storm is likely to show up on our doorstep. I see a few random storms Thursday night into Sunday.

Minnesota has experienced six tornadoes in 2024, all south and east of the Twin Cities.