It is a tale of two Minnesotas. Central and southern Minnesota is green and lush after 2-3 inches or more of rain, while the Arrowhead and far northern counties are dry and dusty, with fires burning north of Duluth. Thirty thousand acres of forests have been consumed by fire; the huge (17,000 acres) Jenkins Creek Fire is only 6% contained. A nearly four-day storm system drenched much of the state, but southern moisture never reached the counties needing it most.
And now comes news of another extended spell of dry weather falling on Memorial Day weekend.
I see partly sunny skies and low to mid-60s Saturday into Monday, with 70s returning the latter half of next week. Weather guidance from the ECMWF (European model) consistently shows highs near 80 in the Twin Cities metro by late May and into early June.
This is what happens when weather patterns temporarily stall: three weeks’ worth of rain in four days in central and southern counties. Pack the bug repellent if you’re heading north — or east, west or south, for that matter. The one Minnesota constant is wind. And bugs.
