Muggy weather pushing farther north

What kind of a report did your rain gauge give you for August?

My backyard rain gauge in Minneapolis measured almost exactly 3.0 inches for the month, as did the official gauge at MSP Airport. While that was 1.3 inches less than normal, lawns have needed little watering and gardens are looking good as we head into September.

Elsewhere, Redwood Falls recorded 3.3 inches while Rochester, St. Cloud and Duluth all had just a bit over 3.0 inches. Some of the far north was quite dry, however, as International Falls got just 1.5 inches.

A waffling front is separating very warm and muggy air over southern and central Minnesota from warm but much, much drier air in the far north. At mid-afternoon, dew points were in the low 70s across the south but just in the upper 40s to low 50s across the north from Moorhead and Bemidji to the Iron Range and Ely. A few stray showers and storms broke out in the unstable air south of the front.

The rest of the week should be warm and muggy for just about all of us as the humid surge from the south continues to push toward Canada. Expect highs in the 80s to low 90s Wednesday through Friday and then continued heat into the weekend.

A scattering of showers and thunderstorms will dot the radar screen from Tuesday night through Wednesday night. Mostly sunny skies should prevail on Thursday. Then another chance of thunderstorms will begin to arrive on Friday.

The holiday weekend remains a question mark regarding the details of the weather. A cold front is likely to trigger a substantial number of thunderstorms on Saturday and especially Sunday before giving way to cooler, drier weather on Labor Day. The best chance for strong storms appears to be on Sunday.

In the meantime, enjoy the 88 percent waning gibbous moon this evening. In the Twin Cities, it will rise at 9:38 p.m.