Chilly August - And A Wet Wednesday-Thursday?

We started tabulating some of the numbers for the month of August, and found some interesting results. Check out this image below showing average highs for the Sioux Falls area the month of August:
That is 5 degrees below average - and not including today's high so far of 69 degrees. Today's high should drop/raise this August's weather to be near the 10th coldest on record.

As for the start of September, things look cool and wet to start the month. We are looking for showers and thunderstorms to start out Wednesday to Thursday. You can see a computer model's thoughts on that possible rain below:
See that little blob of green over our area? That is where the showers should be by Wednesday evening. That's about in line with our own forecasts here in the KDLT Weather Center, so you can probably expect those. We'll update you if we get any changes in that.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Chilly Night Ahead . . .

OOoo, we haven't seen temperatures like this for awhile... See the light blue-greens, those are overnight low temperatures in the upper 30s, and lower 40s. Chilly as these temps will seem, they aren't close to record temperatures. Many cities have seen record lows in the low 30s, we'll only see a few places dip below 40 tonight, but it'll be cool none the less. Winds streaming from the North are keeping us cool along with high pressure clearing the clouds out of our region. Expect the winds to switch to being from the south as the area of high pressure slips to our south. That will slowly allow high temperatures to climb back up into the mid to upper 70s by the end of the work week. We're supposed to have a high temperature of 80 this time of year, but the cool weather continues... as we're used to.

Keep warm,
~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Dry Summer... And Dry Weather Continues

As I write this we have some light showers around the Yankton area and eastward - but that's it. Not much going on rain-wise, and we're not seeing much in the way of rainfall in our forecast until about next Wednesday.

That image above is showing what we're seeing as far as a rainfall deficit in the Sioux Falls area, but some areas (like Mitchell) are seeing positive numbers for rainfall, with an almost 0.7" *surplus* of rainfall in the Mitchell area.

Chilly Saturday Night

On a different note, we have some *very* chilly temperatures as a possibility for Saturday night's lows. Right now we're looking for lower to middle 40s for most of us.

Normally we show you daytime highs on the type of map above - but this is computer-model forecasted *low* temperatures. They get down into the THIRTIES for parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin and even into northern Iowa. Whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen, but just the chance of that happening has me starting to think about fall...

Have a good weekend!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Light Showers... And A Cooler/Cloudier Day For Friday

Things are changing outside. As I write this you wouldn't know it toward southern South Dakota and vicinity - with plenty of sunshine out there - but there are already showers toward NE South Dakota into west-central Minnesota.

You can probably notice (if you've been checking our weather blog lately) that our forecast breakdown for Mitchell's Corn Palace Festival has changed a little bit... we added some clouds to the forecast. That should pretty much be it for most of us, with a couple of stray light showers toward the East.

Have a good Friday!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Pesky Clouds Today... And Your Corn Palace Festival Forecast

If you happened to step outside today you probably noticed clouds - or at least kind of a filtered style of sunshine. That is not the case to the North or the West. We saw clouds as a result of some pretty heavy rainfall in Nebraska and Iowa.

You can see all of those clouds on that map above - from 1pm this afternoon. They've started moving to the Northeast now, but they held temperatures in check and moved much farther north than we were expecting/hoping.

The good news is that they are going to be gone by tomorrow morning. If you are headed to Mitchell's Corn Palace Festival this is what you can expect:

Not a bad-looking day at all. Actually, pretty similar to how we expected *today* to look, so not too bad. If you are headed there feel free to send us a picture of the events at weather@kdlt.com or a_shaffer@kdlt.com.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Mitchell's Corn Palace Festival Forecast... And Some Preliminary *Cooler* Weekend Temperatures

We have some big temperature swings on the way this week, although we've already been through the first one between last night and this morning. A cold front took us from the middle 80s yesterday with humidity to the upper 70s with little humidity today. This is good news if you're headed out to Mitchell for the Corn Palace Festival:

Vendors open and kick it off around noon tomorrow, and things look nice all day long. By the time concerts start around 5pm it'll be sunny and near 80 degrees. Not bad for August.

Things change temperature-wise by the weekend though. We won't talk *too* much about it now, but this is a computer-model based image showing Saturday's high temperatures:

A huge reinforcing cold burst of air (for this time of year) comes in Friday to Saturday and really changes things to fall for a couple of days. Highs in the 60s to lower 70s on Saturday.

We'll see if it holds true - but for now it seems as though that is the case, so get ready for a cooler weekend.

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Heavy Rain

There has been some rainfall in the early morning hours across parts of the southeast. Some locally heavy rain has fallen in and around the Sioux Falls area and areas south and east of Sioux Falls. Radar estimates (the picture below) estimates up to three inches of rain have fallen near Sioux city and upwards of an inch of rain in portions of Minnehaha county. So watch out for some localized flooding early this morning

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Hot Weather... And A Fall-Like Weekend?

We're starting to see some pretty significant changes in the long-term forecast. After a nice day on Monday of heat and summer-like humidity - we look for a big cooldown to start Tuesday and then get even bigger on the weekend.

Here's the basic summary of why. If you look at the map below this line, you'll see what looks like blobs that are kind of long and narrow. Those represent the jetstream about 75% of the way up the atmosphere. It separates the warm air from the South from the cool air to the North. We labeled the warm air:

Warm air wedged its way into the area for today - but then things change as the jetstream sags to the South toward the weekend. This next image is the same thing - but for Saturday. Notice how the long & narrow blobs are now farther toward the South, with kind of a u-shape centered on the Minneapolis-area:

That dip in the jetstream could mean we see highs in the lower 70s - or possibly even lower. A big-time cooldown for the weekend. Hopefully we are all ready for that - or hopefully it'll miss us and cool off the eastern portions of the Midwest.

Have a nice evening!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Bump In Humidity

Looks like it's going to be a muggy Monday for some - you can see the really dark greens in South Dakota, that's projected dew points in the upper 60s and even some 70s. So while it won't be completely uncomfortable and sticky, it will feel more humid than it has been lately. The reason behind this: a term we call warm air advection. Where warm and more humid air from the south is being brought up or advected into our area.

If you don't like the humidity, just wait until Tuesday, a cold front will ring most of the humidity and moisture out of the air overnight on Monday and into Tuesday. Giving us a much drier but, of course, cooler rest of the work week.

Enjoy the mild heat while it lasts!
~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Hurricane Bill

Hurricane Bill is spinning out causing quite a stir along the east coast. One surfer has already been a victim of the hurricane unfortunately. But the hurricane is weakening, it is currently a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds around 85 miles per hour. Here's a decent website to track it if you like hurricanes.
The good news about Hurricane Bill is that it is a strong storm compared to the current systems we have in the US right now, so it somewhat messes up the way our weather systems progress. The hurricane is actually very close to another low pressure system and cold front that is moving east... (this is making it so Hurricane Bill will not likely make landfall) The two low pressure centers are kind of slowing down the progression of our weather makers. So while we have a low pressure just to our West that will bring rain, it won't make it's way to us until late Monday night.

So expect a sunny finish to the weekend though we'll also see a bump in humidity as well as temperatures, may even feel like summer again!

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Cooler Weather Moves Out... Warm Moves In

If you live in eastern South Dakota, western Minnesota, NW Iowa, NE Nebraska - or various other locations around the Midwest, you probably noticed a lot of pesky clouds out there today. Those clouds made a big difference in temperatures. Under them we saw highs mainly in the 60s. Out of them we saw mostly highs in the 70s to middle and upper 70s.

On this visible satellite image you can see the clouds - and also see their source: Canada. You can blame Canada for this one - but soon we start to see winds from a different direction. Look at these possible highs by Sunday afternoon and evening:

90s to the West and 80s to middle and upper 80s to the East. Quite a change from today's 60s, so if you are missing the summer types of weather conditions - you don't have to wait long.

Have a great weekend!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Showers Today... And More Showers

We've been on a kick with the timelapse feature of our KDLT Skycam lately. That's not just a coincidence, but rather because of the fact that we keep getting interesting cloud and storm features to show you (and us). We'll show the latest from today, which I find pretty interesting, after a quick picture that our weekend meteorologist Jesse Ritka sent in:


That is probably a picture you don't find unfamiliar if you live in the eastern half of South Dakota or Minnesota or NW Iowa today. We saw quite a few showers today - but all were small and quick-moving. Check out this timelapse over a 30 minute period today:

You can see a little raindrop on the camera lens at first. We cleared that off. Then another quick shower... then another. All in 30 minutes! We stay cool - but drier for Friday.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Storms Around The Area... And A Big Cooldown/Warm-up On The Way

We were watching storms quickly developing on the horizon - and this is one we caught on our KDLT Skycam:



There are still some storms around the area - although most of them are not severe right now... We'll post more later if things start to pick up steam again.

Speaking of storms... just a little personal tidbit. Most of you may know that I am from the Minneapolis-area - and I heard first about the tornado that hit downtown Minneapolis from my own dad. He was downtown at work and had to take shelter. Pretty wild. If we can find video we'll post it here as well.

Temperatures

As for the temperatures out there... we are looking for some pretty chilly conditions out there for this time of year in the area. 60s in August - for highs?

Look at that map! That is pretty wild. Our average highs are still mostly in the middle 80s. Thankfully we don't have long to go before the warmth comes again. Friday looks cool still, but Saturday we start to warm up and Sunday looks ''normal.''

We're starting to see some computer-model predicted 90s out west by Sunday. Toward the East we'll look for some 80s of the middle 80s variety. Hopefully things don't change much, because I personally am not ready to let go of summer.

Have a great night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Storms On The Way... And Your Turner County Fair Forecast

We're talking a bit about everything tonight on our KDLT Weather Blog... first off - the storms on the way. Here's a timeline of what we're looking for as you head through the night tonight and day tomorrow:

Basically it seems like everyone can expect some form of two different batches of moderate to heavier rainfall. Unfortunately, that includes residents of Turner county and Parker - as well as people visiting the Turner County Fair. Here is what we're looking for in that event:

Not exactly the warmest day in August you could have for the fair, but not terrible either. Things get even colder for Thursday. Toward the north & east we are looking for upper 60s on Thursday, with lower 70s toward eastern South Dakota. Then we rebound significantly for the weekend. We'll talk more about that at a later time. For now just dust off your umbrella.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Nice Today But Next Storm is on the Way

Nice today as lots of sunshine will accompany some very nice temperatures with many areas back above 80 degrees today. Also, the humidity levels will be very low through much of the day and won't be as windy as it was yesterday.

But the atmosphere will likely begin to change very quickly toward the sunset hour as storms are expected to develop in south central SD and continue to move east and increase in coverage in the overnight hours. However, the amount of rainfall that many areas see will depend on just how much low level moisture returns to the area tonight through tomorrow. The models are suggesting a very quick return with dew points near 70 as early as mid day tomorrow. Here is a look at the 12 hour increments starting tonight at 7pm and going through 7am Thursday.

Total rainfall amounts from this storm will be fairly light for the most part. However, areas in the east will likely see the most with some areas picking up more than an inch of rain. The Hydrological Prediction Center's forecast shows that the storm will likely drop some good rain the further east you go.~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Hurricanes Are Starting To Form

While we don't necessarily deal with hurricanes in this part of the country - we definitely deal with the effects. You might remember me going to the Bahamas Weather Conference earlier in the year - and a big part of that talked about hurricane preparedness. It was amazing to me how much of an effect a major hurricane down south can affect everyone - even those of us in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, etc.

Tropical Storm Claudette made landfall in the Florida panhandle, and is the first landfalling tropical storm/hurricane of the year. There are a couple of other storms we are watching as well, and depending on what happens with them you may or may not see me talking about them on-air. Ana and Bill have both formed, and both are looking strong.

Hopefully the hurricanes can stay away from the United States this year! Keep track by going to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov or just look for any posts of mine on this weather blog.

Have a good night, and stay warm because we'll see lows back in the lower 50s and upper 40s around the area.

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Sight in the Sky Early in the AM

If you are an early bird... or even if you are not, you should be for tomorrow morning. A rare sight in the sky, if you look to the east just before dawn you'll catch the waning crescent moon and very close to the moon you'll catch the planet Venus, which will be shining brighter than most of the stars. And if you check outdoors at the right time, you'll be able to see the International Space Station pass across the sky as well. You can see when the ISS will pass across the sky in your area on this website. You just put in your zip code and the page will tell you when the ISS will pass across and where to look. It also says any other satellites that will be visible in the night sky, providing the skies are clear enough.
Enjoy the show!

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Storm Video

Here's some video of the storms that passed through Pierre earlier tonight, thanks again to Zach for sending this in. You can see some of the wicked winds that are associated with this bowing line of strong storms.

A lot of lightning and rain in addition to strong winds have been witnessed and reported as the storms roll across the state.

Stay safe.

~KDLT Meteorologist

Jesse Ritka

Lightning & Bow

Check out this double lighting strike from this line of storms. This particular storm was located just south of Pierre, thanks to Zach in Pierre for this great picture. You can see a couple of the lightning streamers that didn't make it to the ground but were in search of the fastest way to connect with something of the opposite charge.

Here's that bow that's pushing through central South Dakota right now along a cold front. Expect this line to bring hail and heavy downpours in areas where strong thunderstorms embedded in this line are occurring. We'll also see some strong winds move along and behind this front. Overnight we'll see this line fill in even more, possibly changing into a Mesoscale Convective System or MCS.

Here's a quick definition of an MCS from the NWS:
Mesoscale Convective System. Mesoscale Convective System. A complex of thunderstorms which becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual thunderstorms, and normally persists for several hours or more. MCSs may be round or linear in shape, and include systems such as tropical cyclones, squall lines, and Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs) (among others). MCS often is used to describe a cluster of thunderstorms that does not satisfy the size, shape, or duration criteria of an Mesoscale Convective Complex.

So we're going to be looking at these storms forming a much larger cluster of thunderstorms and rainshowers.

Enjoy a nice lightning show from indoors & stay safe.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Severe Saturday

This is a close up view of a tornadic cell in Nebraska, heading towards the town of Pierce. The rotation within it seems to have weakened a bit, but the warning lasts for another 10 minutes or so.

If we zoom out a bit - this is a view of the SE sector of the viewing area, some pretty heavy rainshowers are working up towards Sioux Falls right now, expect storms and showers to spark up within the next half hour or so.

There's also a line off West that's moving eastward and will pass through the state mainly during the overnight hours, this is along a cold front that will bring cooler and drier air to our region.

Hope you like the 70s, they'll be back.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Severe Storms & A Wet Weekend

Here's a look from the DOT cams from Safetravelusa.com looking to the West at some severe storms that produced quarter size hail earlier today.

Here's a look at the severe storms when they were quite intense. There was actually a flash flood warning in effect for McPherson and Brown county because of all the rainfall that's been put out from these storms.

Watch this line of thunderstorms fill in as we go throughout the overnight hours and push eastward.

More severe weather chances spreading across the entire state for Saturday, if you see sunshine during the afternoon hours, you are going to be at risk for severe weather during the evening. We'll keep you posted.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Storms Out West Tonight... Moving East Tomorrow?

We're on the look-out for isolated storms in our area. So far we're just watching storms off in western South Dakota, with clear skies and lots of heat and humidity toward the east. Here's what the latest image from the Rapid City radar is showing:

Not the strongest of storms or the most organized, yet, but we'll watch them this evening. Here's what we're seeing as some rainfall possibilities for your Friday night - Saturday morning:
See that blob showing up on that map? That represents some possible showers out there around 1am on Friday night to early Saturday. In general storms will be widespread - but also fairly isolated in nature. A couple of stronger storms are a possibility farther toward the North.

Have a great night! We'll update you should an isolated stronger storm sneak into our area.

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

The Heat Is On... Will It Continue?

Today we saw our first 90 degree day in the Sioux Falls area since June 22nd. That is quite a feat considering our average temperature actually dipped to 84 degrees just a couple of days ago. Looking ahead - it seems like Thursday will possibly be the warmest/hottest day of the week. How hot? Well, look at this computer-model forecast map of temperatures that lines up closely with our KDLT forecast:

Look at those temperatures. Possibly over 100 degrees toward SW South Dakota, with upper 90s possible as far east as eastern South Dakota. The rest of us will look for some form of 90s for the next couple of days - until about Saturday. Then things cool down a bit.

Here's what we're looking for heading into the day on Sunday, again using computer model forecasted high temperatures:

Highs in the 70s? We're not quite buying into that - but it is a possibility. Right now I am thinking we'll see about a 10 degree swing from Saturday's highs to Sunday's. 91 degrees to 81 degrees.

Enjoy the heat - or stay cool... depending on your taste.

Have a good night!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Dense Fog

Some really thick fog developed this morning in areas around the Sioux Falls metro and visibilities at times are near zero. Even though many areas are seeing some lower visibilities because of fog this morning, the really dense clouds have set up shop right around Sioux Falls. Take a peak at a current surface map. The number I have circled represents the current visibility in miles.

Here is a visible satellite image of what the fog looks like just after sunrise. Notice a sharp edge to the blob of clouds hugging the surface.Keep in mind that over 700 people are killed in the U.S. every year in car accidents because of dense fog where visibilities are a quarter mile or less. This is from a 2001 study. The main factor in those crashes is speed. So the best thing you can do if you are traveling this morning is to slow down. Don't become a statistic!!

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight

We're watching for meteors here in the KDLT studio... now that things are getting darker it's possible you'll see some.

In that image above we highlighted some of the features of the meteor shower.

Here are some facts, courtesy of Yahoo:

Perseid meteoroids (which is what they're called while in space) are fast. They enter Earth's atmosphere (and are then called meteors) at roughly 133,200 mph (60 kilometers per second) relative to the planet. Most are the size of sand grains; a few are as big as peas or marbles. Almost none hit the ground, but if one does, it's called a meteorite.

Comet Swift-Tuttle, whose debris creates the Perseids, is the largest object known to make repeated passes near Earth. Its nucleus is about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) across, roughly equal to the object that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Back in the early 1990s, astronomer Brian Marsden calculated that Swift-Tuttle might actually hit Earth on a future pass. More observations quickly eliminated all possibility of a collision. Marsden found, however, that the comet and Earth might experience a cosmic near miss (about a million miles) in 3044.

When a Perseid particle enters the atmosphere, it compresses the air in front of it, which heats up. The meteor, in turn, can be heated to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 Celsius). The intense heat vaporizes most meteors, creating what we call shooting stars. Most become visible at around 60 miles up (97 kilometers). Some large meteors splatter, causing a brighter flash called a fireball, and sometimes an explosion that can often be heard from the ground.

Comet Swift-Tuttle has many comet kin. Most originate in the distant Oort cloud, which extends nearly halfway to the next star. The vast majority never visit the inner solar system. But a few, like Swift-Tuttle, have been gravitationally booted onto new trajectories, possibly by the gravity of a passing star long ago.

Perseid meteoroids (and if you've been following along, you know these are things in space before they hit Earth's atmosphere) are anywhere from 60 to 100 miles apart, even at the densest part of the river of debris left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. That river, in fact, is more like many streams, each deposited during a different pass of the comet on its 130-year orbit around the Sun. The material drifts through space and, in fact, orbits the Sun on roughly the same path as the comet while also spreading out over time.

As Earth rotates, the side facing the direction of its orbit around the Sun tends to scoop up more space debris. This part of the sky is directly overhead at dawn. For this reason, the Perseids and other meteor showers (and also random shooting stars in general) are usually best viewed in the predawn hours.

Comet Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992, an unspectacular pass through the inner solar system that required binoculars to enjoy. Prior to that, it had last been seen in the year it was "discovered" by American astronomers Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, 1862. Abraham Lincoln was President.

Swift-Tuttle's orbit has been traced back nearly 2,000 years and is now thought to be the same comet that was observed in 188 AD and possibly even as early as 69 BC.

Swift-Tuttle is due back in 2126 (as you know now, it won't hit us) and astronomers think it might become a spectacular naked-eye comet like Hale-Bopp. If historical calculations are correct (see Fact #9) then the 2126 appearance will mark the comet's 3rd millennium of human observation, assuming someone is in fact around to see it.

Interesting facts - and things look clear tonight. Hopefully you get a chance to check it out!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

Warm Week Ahead

Temperatures are on the rise over the next couple of days and we could be on our way to the warmest week of the summer. Now, I realize that doesn't say a whole lot for this particular summer just because we have been so cool but it will be a nice treat for the kids who have to go back to school next week and the farmers who are looking to help their crops along. Won't be too hot today with temperatures expected to be in the 80's:But just wait till tomorrow when highs will be back in the 90's for at least two thirds of South Dakota:

The good news is that dew points should stay relatively low over the next couple of days. So it will be hot but at least it will be bearably hot

Today:

Tuesday:But it won't last long as the humidity will be creeping back on up on Wednesday so the week may end rather sultry.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Saturday's Storm Chase "Lite"

After the tornado warnings and the big storms crept closer and closer to Minnehaha County, I hopped into my car and took off with a camera.

Here is some of what I saw:



That was video of the scud clouds and shelf cloud from the departing supercell thunderstorm. As you can see, I wasn't the only one there... you can see a firetruck and a few other people watching the storm.

A little bit later we made it out to Hartford. Still trailing the storm too much to be right there should a tornado drop - but close enough for some good video of the shelf cloud from the storm behind the water tower.



As you can see... pretty impressive storms out there. Luckily no tornadoes and definitely no tornadoes impacting anybody. That's what I and most/all storm chasers hope for, and it's nice when it happens.

Have a great night - you can find one more clip on our KDLT Weather Facebook Page - just click on the link on the right-hand side of this page to get there!

~KDLT Chief Meteorologist Aaron Shaffer

A Busy Saturday

Storms fired up pretty early today as there were many severe thunderstorm warnings across south central South Dakota by 11 am and then tornado warnings were issued at about noon and continued right through 4pm. The good news is that there were no reports of tornadoes although there were several funnels spotted. However, lots of hail fell in many spots across nearly a dozen South Dakota counties. Some of our viewers sent in some pictures of not only the storms but of some of the remnants.

Here is a couple shots of the storm that made its way just north of Sioux Falls. These were taken in northern Minnehaha county. Notice the lowering of the clouds on the first picture called a shelf cloud. And the bee hive like structure on the second picture which is very typical of a supercell thunderstorm.

This hail fell in Aurora Center and shattered several windows in this house and destroyed a vehicle in the driveway.We are expecting more storms on Sunday afternoon and evening but the good news is that severe weather should be very minimal.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz