Spectacular, but trending dry. 1965 tornado memories

This is the weather most Minnesotans have been waiting for. But it's drying out fast. Fire danger remains high across much of Minnesota. Gusty northwest winds tempered the warm up today.

The web cam at Maynard's on Lake Minnetonka shows people out enjoying the breeze and watching the ice disappear on Lake Minnetonka.

Mild again Saturday

Our weather winning streak continues. Temperatures approach 80 degrees again Saturday afternoon across southern Minnesota. We cool a bit Sunday and into next week, but it still looks very pleasant.

Rain chances?

It's getting a little dry out there in spots. A few scattered showers arrive Saturday night. The next chance for rain holds off until next Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's the Canadian model.

Overall rainfall looks to be less than an inch in the next week for most of Minnesota.

53 years since 1965 tornado outbreak

People of a certain age will never forget the day in 1965 when 6 tornadoes swept across the Twin Cities and points west.

The old school WSR-57 radar scopes lit up with nasty looking, tornado bearing hook echoes.

Here's a write up from the Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group's Climate Journal.

On Thursday, May 6, 1965 the worst tornado outbreak in Twin Cities history struck the western and northern metro area, where five tornadoes occurred, with another just to the west in Sibley and McLeod Counties. The barrage of tornadoes lasted nearly three hours, from the early evening until well after dark, but the severe thunderstorms that spawned them lasted many hours longer. Four of the evening's tornadoes were rated F4 on the Fujita Scale , one was an F3 and another was an F2 (see the new "enhanced Fujita" scale here ). Minnesota has not seen a day since then with that many F4 or EF-4 tornadoes.

Debates have continued since 1965 about the actual tornado tracks, their timelines, and about their true human toll, but the official record indicates that the tornadoes killed thirteen people and injured 683 more, with 600 homes destroyed and 1,700 people rendered homeless. Six fatalities occurred in Mounds View with the final tornado of the evening. Another tornado claimed three lives in the Island Park area of Mound, on the north and northwest side of Lake Minnetonka. Other deaths were reported in Fridley, Spring Lake Park, and in Sibley County, between Green Isle and Hamburg.

And here's more from the Twin Cities NWS.

May 6, 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the worst tornadoes in Twin Cities history. Five tornadoes swept across the western and northern portions of the 7-county region, and a sixth tornado was just outside the metropolitan area. Four tornadoes were rated F4, one was an F3, and the other produced F2 damage. Thirteen people were killed and 683 injured. Many more would have been killed had it not been for the warnings of the U.S. Weather Bureau, local officials, and the outstanding communications by local radio and television stations. Many credit the announcers of WCCO-AM with saving countless lives. It was also the first time in Twin Cities history that civil defense sirens were used for severe weather. Citizen groups were organized to help serve their communities.

For me, the 1965 tornadoes are my first living memory. If we could Netflix my mind, you would see a bunch of kids outside wearing football helmets collecting huge hailstones, then running for the basement as the Deephaven tornado approached.

That one day is what launched me on my now 30+ year weather career.