The streak of extremely hot and dry summers may be coming to an end

The streak of extremely hot and dry summers may be coming to an end

The streak of scorching hot and bone-dry summers in the Twin Cities might be coming to an end.

Why it matters: Three straight years of significant drought in Minnesota has ruined crops, hampered outdoor recreation, and turned a state that is normally lush green to brown.

Driving the news: The National Weather Service released its summer outlook last week. Most of the state is leaning toward a warmer-than-normal June-August, but some of it could just as likely be cooler than normal, per the NWS.

• The outlook also suggests a coin-flip likelihood of getting normal amounts of precipitation — far better than our recent dry spell.

State of play: Solid rain this spring has erased the drought that lasted from last summer into the warm and dry winter.

• Two waves of rain are heading our way Friday through Sunday and could bring close to 1.5 inches to the Twin Cities, according to models shared by MPR News.
• Warmer air arrives Tuesday, with forecasts calling for 60s and 70s much of next week.

Zoom out: Despite a shift to a cooler La Niña cycle, it’s highly likely that much of the U.S. will still continue to be hotter than usual this summer, writes Axios’ Andrew Freedman.

What they’re saying: Michelle L’Heureux of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told Axios that other climate trends — including human-caused climate change — may outrank the seesaw from El Niño to La Niña as the dominant driver of U.S. summer temperature anomalies.

What we’re watching: Canadian wildfires, which caused awful air pollution in Minnesota last summer. There’s an above-average risk of another burning summer north of the border, according to MPR News.

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