Minnesota sees above average rainfall since April

MINNEAPOLIS — It wasn't long ago we were asking, "Where's winter?" with the lack of snow and cold. Now, the question is, "Where's summer?"

Rain, rain and more rain —i t seems like that's all we've seen lately. Since April 1 in the Twin Cities, we've picked up more than 17 inches of precipitation — that's more than 5 inches above average.

"I've never seen anything like this before," said Ann Braulik. "It's just crazy that we got the amount of rain that we have this year."

All the wet weather has brought plenty of flooding, but it has kept one thing at bay — the extreme heat. So far this year at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, we have yet to hit 90 degrees even once, the latest that's happened in a decade.

According to the National Weather Service, we usually see our first 90-degree day around the end of May. The earliest on record is April 15 with the latest being Aug. 7. Last year, we hit our first 90-degree reading in May and would go on to do it a total of 33 times — the fifth most in a year. Typically, we climb into the 90s about 13 times a year.

Surprisingly, over the last several decades, the Twin Cities have been trending slightly downward when it comes to 90-degree days. Scientists say that may be because of the increased humidity in the corn belt.

However, as we head into mid-July, it does look like things may finally be heating up for a change.