Currently in the Twin Cities — August 8, 2023: Cool front with rain chances

The weather, currently.

We have a few more rain chances this week. Late Tuesday a cool front will spark some thunderstorms in the northern third of Minnesota and that lingering front could touch off some spotty thunder late Wednesday in central Minnesota/Twin Cities area. Late Thursday into early Friday a more significant cool front will create a statewide chance of storms and bring a drop in temperatures. We’ll be in the 80s through Thursday but by Friday & Saturday highs will be around 80 or in the upper 70s but northern Minnesota will see highs in just the 60s!

— Sven Sundgaard

What you need to know, currently.

After curving eastward at the last minute, Typhoon Khanun is now bearing down on the Korean Peninsula.

Parts of eastern North Korea could receive up to 500 mm (20 in) of rain in just 48 hours later this week as Khanun passes through. It’s the latest weather disaster in North Korea after a drought-filled spring prompted a food crisis, and heat waves and heavy rains plagued the authoritarian state in July.

There have been only 5 typhoon-strength storms to make landfall in North Korea since complete records begin in 1945. Khanun is expected to restrengthen over the next two days and traverse directly over Seoul, South Korea, while directing most of its strongest wind, storm surge, and rainfall on the eastern half of the Koreas.

Khanun will only be able to restrengthen because it will be traversing some of the most unusually warm water in the world between Japan and the Koreas, approximately 4-5°C (7-9°F) hotter than normal. That will also act to enhance the rainfall it produces.

Last week, Typhoon Doksuri brought Beijing its largest rainstorm in recorded history, and had Khanun taken a similar track, it would have greatly compounded flooding in China.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

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