Area Weather: Wednesday's weekend forecast
Did you have a chance to check out this year's Leonid Meteor Shower? It was one of the best in years: Up to 500 shooting stars per hour and perfect sky conditions.
The Leonids are made up of bits of debris. Much of the debris is made up of matter the size of grains of sand that are vaporized in the atmosphere. Some matter the size of a pea can create dramatic fireballs as they fly into the atmosphere.
Although it was a great meteor shower this year, a meteor shower of more than 1,000 is considered a meteor storm. The event peaked Tuesday night. If you missed the meteor shower this year, next year should be a great one, as well!
By the way, temperatures will remain above average for the rest of the week into the weekend. Normal highs this time of the year are in the low to mid 30s across the area. We could see a bit of rain or snow ahead this week into the weekend. Have a great rest of the week and weekend.
WEATHER HISTORY
In 1979 a heat wave moved through the area. Temps were particularly warm in Southwestern Minnesota. The temperature hit 70 degrees at Browns Valley!
WEATHER FACTS
Red sprites are weak, but massive red flashes in the sky that appear above active thunder storms. The first "accidental images" of red sprites were captured in 1989. Part of the reason we learned about them just so recently is that they only last for a few milliseconds. One thing that at least makes them a little easier to trace is the fact that sprites rarely occur alone; they are usually clusters of three or more together at once!
MINNESOTA AT A GLANCE:
Moorhead...Low 25...High 43
Duluth...Low 27... High 42
Clara City...Low 25...High 44
Twin Cities...Low 31...High 49
Rochester...Low 26...High 45
Marshall...Low...26...High 45
TODAY (Wednesday)
Partly cloudy. High 44 Low 30 Winds: NE 5-15 mph Prec. None
Today's sunrise: 7:26 am Today's sunset: 4:47 p.m.
Normal High: 33 Normal Low: 20
A weather disturbance will arrive late Wednesday night into Thursday and could bring a chance of light rain and snow.
OUTLOOK
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, chance of light rain and possibly mixed with some light snow. High 42 Low 28 Winds: NW 5-15 mph Prec. Trace-.10"
Friday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain/snow early. High 45 Low 28 Winds: N 10-15 mph Prec. Trace-10"
Saturday: Partly cloudy and breezy with a slight chance of rain/snow. High 47 Low 32 Winds: SE 15-25 mph Prec. Trace-.05"
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, chance of light rain/snow. High 43 Low 28 Winds: W/NW 10-20 mph Prec. Trace-.10".