Weather chats with Mark Seeley

July brought heat and rain to much of Minnesota, breaking dozens of daily temperature and rainfall records – and on July 25-26, a rare “mega-rain” storm dropped six inches or more of rain across swaths of southern Minnesota.     
In contrast, climate stations in historically drier parts of the state are reporting more rainfall than average for the month.
MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with retired University of Minnesota climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley about the week in weather.
It was a hot July week across much of Minnesota, with places as far north as International Falls and Ely reporting temps in the 90s. Then on July 8, several tornadoes tore across portions of western and central Minnesota, injuring two people and leaving one dead.    
Meteorological summer began on June 1 with back-to-back 90 degree days in the Twin Cities — something that retired U of M meteorologist and climatologist Mark Seeley says has only happened three times in nearly 150 years of daily recordkeeping.
An MPR News listener in Duluth wrote to ask whether June has been unusually windy in Minnesota, after observing lilac bushes and trees blowing around more — and more frequently — than in recent memory.
With May in the rearview mirror, retired University of Minnesota climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the month in weather — and what to expect from the weekend ahead.
One way to describe last Sunday’s rainfall in many parts of Minnesota? An “all-day soaker,” according to Mark Seeley.
According to retired University of Minnesota climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley, 90 percent of Minnesota saw at least one frost in the past week — an unusual occurrence for May.