Currently in the Twin Cities — July 7, 2023: Getting a bit warmer again this weekend

The weather, currently.

The latest drought monitor shows drought continuing to expand. Now most of Minnesota, 57 percent is classified in at least moderate drought with 8 percent in the severe drought category. Just two weeks ago 39 percent of the state was in drought. Despite some hopeful rainfalls, they’ve been largely localized and not consistent enough given the high sun angle and hot temperatures.

We have just an isolated shower chance Saturday and a slightly better chance of spotty storms Monday. Temperatures will also be warming back up to normal and above readings by the weekend. Some models have us near 90 again by Monday.

— Sven Sundgaard

What you can do, currently.

The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.

When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.

If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.

Thank you!!

What you need to know, currently.

On Thursday, researchers at Colorado State University released an updated seasonal hurricane forecast for the Atlantic, boosting their outlook to 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes — all of which are well above long-term averages.

The forecasters cite record-warm ocean temperatures as the main reason for the worse forecast. “Most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic now has record warm sea surface temperatures,” they write, which they anticipate will offset the effect from El Niño, which typically creates stronger upper-atmospheric winds that can complicate hurricane formation.

The forecasters give this helpful note to remind coastal residents to start making their hurricane season plans now:

Climate change has boosted the odds that any given hurricane will reach Category 3 or greater, the most destructive type. Six of the past 7 hurricane seasons have had more hurricanes than the long-term average number of hurricanes per year.

—Eric Holthaus