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Garden variety here this morning. Time to flex the rain gear at work

Buddy of mine lives in Riverside not far from the Des Plaines River and the Cicadas are out in force from what he’s said.

2.11” yesterday. Lawn is looking lush.

After 3 summers of flash drought this pattern has been a welcome change. Hope it keeps up throughout the summer. 1.62” so far today, missed out on anything severe but first legit rumbles of thunder this year.

AQI around 180, a smelly nasty smoke filled evening. Wouldn’t want to go outside looking for the Aurora if it was right overhead.

Might have to kick the A/C on for the first time today if forecasted highs in the mid 80s comes to fruition. Been loving having the windows open for the past week. It also looks like wildfire smoke season begins today. Smokey skies expected to move in this afternoon. Edmonton has been dealing with thick smoke for a couple days now.

Tonight has been incredible. Went to the wildlife refuge near Zimmerman and saw the Aurora fill nearly the entire sky. Eventually it became a long E-W band parked overhead and just to the south of me. I’ve never seen such consistent and wide sky coverage before. Not the brightest I’ve ever seen but certainly the largest and most active. Getting to see it setup and dance directly overhead is breathtaking and jaw dropping. Just wish I had a good camera with me.

I’ll grab pictures, but my iPhone 8 will be potato quality compared to others.

Prepping for a short drive north to view the Aurora tonight. Looks like a very strong event is coming together. If I didn’t have two little ones I’d be heading up north of Duluth but I think an area near Cambridge MN will have to do.

0.27” here today. Jumped from the low 50s around noon to the low 60s as the sun came out. Twins game tomorrow with perfect weather.

April finished with 4.19” of precipitation which is well above normal, and much appreciated. We really needed it. There was only a T of snowfall. Time for my final winter grade. I’m going to give winter 23/24 a D grade. It was a record warm and very dry winter in Minnesota. However the front and back ends were punctuated by memorable snowfalls that saved the season from a solid F. The 2.3” on Halloween provided a memorable trick or treating experience, and those photos of my kid in the snow we will always cherish. The weeklong cold snap in January provided no snowfall but froze the lakes quite solid and saved the ice fishing and ski seasons from disaster. My local hill was open daily from early December to mid March. The surprise 7” Valentine’s Day snowstorm reminded everyone we still live in a winter weather climate. March is when things got interesting, precipitation began increasing and we bagged a 12” multi day snowfall that broke the doldrums of dryness we endured most of the cold season. Other stat padding events brought us up to 29.5” which is still well below normal but dampers the disaster that was DJF. Only around 50 days until they are getting shorter again.

Mid 40s and a rainy Sunday. 0.45” today with another batch moving in. Like many locations it’s been a wet April with 3.26” imby. The mature Swamp White Oak in our neighbors yard bloomed the other day.

Rain was a dud here today. Let’s see what tonight brings. Tornado Sirens blaring down in Des Moines.

I felt chilly last night around 10pm when the air temp dropped into the 70s. Amazing how quickly the body acclimates.

Nabbed a 100 yesterday. Dry heat rocks

Only made it to 99 at KPSP yesterday.

I’m ready for a weather whiplash today. Currently it’s 30 degrees with a very light dusting of snow overnight. Heading to visit my parents in Palm Desert CA, where we will be pushing 100 the next several days

Snow showers here as well. Freeze warning tonight

Mid 40s and lots of rain today, a few rumbles of Thunder too. All this moisture is great. Winds were really kicking earlier. 30 degrees warmer down I-35 in Des Moines.

Highway 61 traffic jams imminent.

Grass/shrubs off to the races now. Trees looking ready to burst into action. Mid 70s this weekend should bring out the green.

Hopefully the weather is better for us in 2099. Good luck and enjoy the celestial event today everyone.

Washout on Sunday. More raindrops falling this morning. Love it.

September 14, 2099 there will be a Solar eclipse with the totality passing right through Minneapolis and Madison. Too bad I’ll be 109 or more likely dead. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_September_14,_2099

My company doesn’t build them. We just got contracted to do some engineering work.