Our severe weather chances this summer

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The month of June is the stormiest by far in the state of Minnesota but its not our only chance of seeing severe weather. Thanks to research by NOAA, the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, we can chart the severe weather hot spots through the summer months.  Check out the maps below for the summer months and you can see the severe weather chances fade away as we move towards fall.

In the spring, the probability of severe weather comes from the position of the Jetstream. Large dips, or troughs, can be the hotspot for a severe weather outbreak. The summer months see the severe chances hugging the Rockies and Great Plains, as upslope winds are more common. This is the time of year that we see thunderstorms that originate to our west move through as a cluster of windy rainy rumblers, aka the MCC (Mesoscale Convective Complex). This helps contribute to the fact that July and August are among our wettest months. Once we get farther into summer, the Jetstream retreats farther into Canada, and our chances for severe weather become more isolates and localized.