Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

96 degrees: Hottest day in nearly 2 years Monday

Post-Tropical Depression Cristobal triggers flash flood watches Tuesday

Welcome to another unusual weather week for Minnesota.

Monday brought the heat.

It hit 96 degrees at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Monday afternoon. That was the hottest day in nearly two years in the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota.

I saw 97 degrees at Lakeville, Eden Prairie, Litchfield, Cambridge, Granite Falls, Faribault and St. James Monday. Minnesota rode the top of an expanding heat dome across the central United States Monday.

Temperatures Monday afternoon
Temperatures Monday afternoon
Oklahoma Mesonet

Severe risk northwest

It was a dry heat in eastern Minnesota Monday. Dew points hovered in the 50s in the Twin Cities. But dew points near 70 degrees provided fuel for potentially severe thunderstorms across northwest Minnesota and the Red River Valley.

Severe thunderstorm watch boxes are posted for the Red River Valley and northwest Minnesota until 11 p.m. Monday night.

Severe thunderstorm watch
Severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m. CDT.
Grand Forks, N.D., NWS Office

Flash flood risk Tuesday

You can read my detailed post today on Tropical Depression Cristobal. Expect rain to increase after midday Tuesday through Tuesday night. Flash flood watches have been issued for the potential for 2 to more than 4 inches of rain by Wednesday.

The watch zone includes southeast Minnesota and the Wisconsin portions of the Twin Cities suburbs.

Flash flood watch
Flash flood watch
Twin Cities National Weather Service

If you control irrigation systems around the Twin Cities, eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin, turning them off now will help alleviate potential flooding at your location.

Stay alert for the potential for flash flooding Tuesday and Tuesday night.