Meteorological summer arrives, 70s return this week

We all know meteorologists march to the beat of a different drummer. The weather tribe is an interesting, sometimes skeptical and always independent bunch. Why not choose our own seasons?

Today marks the start of meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere. The months of June, July and August are the three warmest months of the year. We all know July is the warmest month of the year in Minnesota. But did you know that August is No. 2, and June actually the third warmest?

Here's a look at average (mean) monthly temperatures for the five warmest months of the year at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

1. July  73.8 degrees

2. August  71.2 degrees

3. June  68.8 degrees

4. September  62 degrees

5. May  59.1 degrees

September is the fourth warmest month of the year on average, so we are now entering the four warmest months of the year in Minnesota.

The latest set of 30 year average also shows August (4.30 inches) has passed June (4.25 inches) as the wettest month of the year on average in the Twin Cities. Ironically, meteorological summer is the wettest and also the sunniest time of year on average when you calculate average percent of possible sunshine.

1. July 72 percent

2. August 69 percent

3. June 66 percent

Temps trend upward

Thermometers return to the 70s this week across Minnesota. Southerly winds by Wednesday blow in more humidity as dew points rise back into the sticky 60s. Scattered rains roam the plains as a weak and loosely focused low pressure system staggers through Wednesday and Thursday.

A nagging 40 percent chance of pop up showers arrives Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday looks like the nicer days this weekend.

This week's rainfall looks hit or miss. The true nature of summertime convection? One town gets soaked. The next one over dodges between showers.

Here's the NOAA Global Forecast System model version of events this week; a patchwork of scattered rains across Minnesota.

It could be worse...it could be bats showing up on Doppler. Check out this tweet from the National Weather Service in San Antonio.

Drenched Texans are also getting some good weather news. A dry week for Texas?

Strawberry Full Moon tomorrow

You have to love Ojibwe moon names. The native peoples were tuned into seasonal changes in weather and wildlife. Tuesday's full moon is named the Strawberry Full Moon.

Here's more on traditional Ojibwe moon names from St. Cloud State University.

Traditionally the Ojibwe used the sun, moon, and stars to keep track of the passing of time. They used the seasons and the activities that were culturally significant each month. The word ‘month’ is derived from moneth, which comes from ‘moon’2 .

The moon’s takes on average 29.5 day to make one circle around the Earth as seen from our backyard.3 Today we can make a calendar with 12 months and correlate what the Ojibwe months would be. Ojibwe lunar calendar had 13 moons.

The name of the moon each month signifies whatever is happening that is important to survival, gathering of food, etc. at that time. This method of time keeping denotes the priority in the actual event and not an abstract construction of a time-keeping device.

For example, June is Ode’imini’giizis- Strawberry Moon, this is the time of year that the strawberries are ripe. It is the only time of year when it happens, if you miss out, you have to wait until next year to gather strawberries or hope to trade w/ someone for berries. Paying attention to when the food is ready is crucial for survival.