Dry humor: Record low dew points in Minnesota this week
Our current air mass over Minnesota is drier than the desert southwest
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Welcome to the Minnesota desert.
Tuesday’s air mass over Minnesota is so dry, it just tied an all-time record. The dew point at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport dipped to just 10 degrees at 4 p.m. Tuesday. That ties the all-time record for the lowest dew point ever recorded on May 12.
You can see how dew points at the airport hovered in the lower teens all day Tuesday.
MPR climate contributor Dr. Mark Seeley adds some perspective.
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Hi all,
Similar to a couple of days last week, the MSP Airport readings for Relative Humidity plunged to just 16 percent this afternoon, and the bottom dropped out of the dew point (actual water vapor in the atmosphere) with a reading of just 10 degrees F....this ties the all-time record low dew point for May 12th which dates back to 1989.
Those forecasted afternoon showers for tomorrow will indeed be welcome.
Mark
Drier than the desert southwest
Tuesday’s air mass over Minnesota is drier than the desert southwest. Dew points dropped as low as zero in northern Minnesota Tuesday.
Now look at dew points in the southwest. They hovered in the 30s and 40s in many areas. Palm Springs had a dew point of 42 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
Moisture moving in
Our parched air mass retreats into Canada Wednesday and Thursday. Watch the animation below as a moist, showery air mass blows into Minnesota. Dew points rise into the 50s by Thursday.
This is how air mass changes happen in Minnesota.
Also, see the yellow shaded hues with dew points in the 60s to 70 degrees down in Missouri?
Preview of coming attractions next week.