Erika could make for a warmer & drier State Fair

We don’t get tropical storms or hurricanes here in the Upper Midwest, but we can receive an indirect glancing blow. The long lines and heavy traffic experienced at the Great Minnesota Get-Together is quite similar to the back up of weather systems possible with Erika. The 3 maps below pretty much sum up how Erika, now a tropical storm, could affect the weather here in the Upper Midwest.


TRAFFIC JAM


The map shows the buildup of heat in the western part of the country.  Take a look to towards the Pacific Northwest and you can see a cold front just waiting to bring in some storms and cooler weather to Minnesota. However, take a look to the southeast and you will see the fly in the ointment, now Tropical Storm Erika. The bubble of heat wants to move east, the front in the northwest wants to approach Minnesota, but in the way is a developing tropical system. 


A HIGH IS BORN

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As Tropical Storm Erika gains strength, the counter clock wise circulation, combined with our approaching front in the Pacific Northwest, will develop a high over the Ohio River Valley. We now have another roadblock in the west to east flow of the traffic of weather.


THE HEAT BUILDS

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As Erika builds, the Ohio River Valley High also builds, which in return pulls in more heat on its back side as we make our way through early next week. This pool of hot air can get even hotter, as Erika will be creating tons of rising air. What goes up must come down and the rising air from Erika will sink over the Midwest. Sinking air heats up! The hotter, sinking air will amplify the high, making the roadblock that much hard to clear.
Long story short, until Erika moves on, the weather will be stuck in place, which means warm and dry to possibly hang around for a good chunk of next week.


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