Record-Challenging Heat Wave for Minneapolis This Week

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

August 27,2013; 9:07PM,EDT

 

 

 

Temperatures will challenge daily record highs much of the week prior to Labor Day in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, under blazing sunshine most days.
High temperatures are forecast to reach well into the 90s most days, just as many children are heading back to school. Average high temperatures for the start of school are in the upper 70s.
Monday's high temperature soared to 97 degrees during the midday hours, breaking the 1948 record of 94. Tuesday broke the record as well, hitting 95 degrees at 2 p.m. local time. Near-record heat is also in the forecast for Wednesday.
The heat wave comes during the Minnesota State Fair, which runs through Labor Day in the Twin Cities area. Staff are working with Regions Hospital and the St. Paul Fire Department to ensure prompt medical attention as needed for fair guests, fair officials said this week.
Forty water stations and three cooling misters are available on the fairgrounds. Precautions even affect marching bands participating in the fair; band directors have been mandated to have their members bring cooler clothing instead of their regular uniforms, the fair said.
Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and take breaks if you must do strenuous work outside of an air-conditioned environment. Avoid rigorous exercise outdoors during the afternoon hours, when the sunshine is the most intense and temperatures are the highest.

High pressure will build at most levels of the atmosphere over the Central states, creating a large dome of hot air.
Along the northern edge of the large dome of heat, rounds of thunderstorms will travel eastward along the Canada border, then southeastward across the Great Lakes region through the end of August.

Occasionally, these storms will dip southward across the Twin Cities. Such patterns have also yielded severe weather with damaging winds and flash flooding.
RELATED:
Forecast Temperature Maps
Quick Transition to Winter Forecast in Midwest
Monitor Thunderstorms With Interactive Radar
Where the storms fail to reach farther south, abnormally dry conditions will trend toward moderate or more severe drought, due to the excessive heat.
AccuWeather.com Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger contributed to the content of this story.