Maypril: Record temperature territory

Welcome to May 15th.

That's the date when our average low temperature in the Twin Cities reaches 50 degrees. Thermometers Tuesday morning stay above 50 degrees across most of southern Minnesota. Like flocks of geese coming north in spring, we watch a gaggle of 'warm minimum' temperature records across Minnesota for March 8th.

April showers

Spotty showers dot the Doppler overnight into Tuesday. Rainfall totals look light in southern Minnesota. Northern Minnesota stands the best chance of a decent puddle potential on top of still frost covered soils.

Here's the bigger (synoptic)  picture. Low pressure slides through the Upper Midwest Tuesday. The trailing cold front stalls in the lower Mississippi Valley. Waves of rain and thunder wring out excessive rainfall totals to the south.

Flooding rains pound the southern states this week. The latest NOAA guidance cranks out some 5" to  10"+ rainfall totals.

California's El Nino 'March Miracle'

Meanwhile out west, California braces for the next wave of (welcome) storms. The belated El Nino-fueled 'March Miracle' is underway.

The maps are looking better for the high Sierra snow-pack.

The next wave of storms is heading toward the coast this week.

Ever wonder what the leading edge of an atmospheric river driving the next coastal storm your way looks like?

Stories from the twitterverse

El Nino fuels record tornado activity in south. We know El Nino years are active severe weather producers along the Gulf Coast states. This winter lived up to expectations.

National media's climate change coverage falling in the hottest year on record in 2015? Happier than ever for MPR's Climate Cast.

The weather wars are heat up again. NOAA has stepped up it's commuting power recently. Now the European model team is upping the ante.

NOAA's National Hurricane Center updates "the cone" and includes storm surge maps.

Snownado? Just. Wow.

A great potential western Weather Lab? Sign me up!