But it's summer? Return of polar vortex to trigger midwest storms, chill

Alex Sosnowsk
AccuWeather
Sat, 12 Jul 2014 08:54 UTC

Rounds of thunderstorms, including severe weather, will affect the Midwest this weekend into Monday, ahead of a push of unseasonably cool air.See video here

While the effect of the July sun and warm landscape will cancel some of the cool air, it will become surprisingly cool during what is typically the hottest time of the year.

According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Carl Erickson, "The pattern is reminiscent of a major polar plunge that occurred this past winter, which was referred to as the Polar Vortex."

A piece of the Polar Vortex, and a summertime version at that will break off from the Arctic and drop southward this coming week.

The pattern will not bring snow or sub-zero cold but it will bring angry clouds, cool air and the risk of waterspouts over the warmer portions of Great Lakes.

The pattern will deliver multiple days with high temperatures in the lower 70s in Chicago and Detroit and even a day or two with highs in the 60s in Minneapolis and other parts of the Upper Midwest.

For fans heading to the All-Star Game at Minneapolis, the it may seem more like football weather. Jackets and long sleeves may be needed by many fans to stay comfortable.

At night, temperatures could challenge record lows from the Midwest. Temperatures will drop into the 50s at night in many cities and will dip into the 40s in some of the suburbs and rural areas.

The cooler air will move in aloft before reaching ground level. As this happens, an unstable atmosphere will trigger episodes of thunderstorms, some of which will be severe in parts of the region.

On Saturday, the severe weather threat will shift eastward and southward over the Central states. The storms are forecast to extend across portions of Iowa, Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

The major threats from these storms will be damaging wind gusts and hail.

The severe storms spanning Saturday into Sunday could reach the metro areas of Omaha, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago, and Detroit with the risks of power outages, property damage and travel disruptions.

Storms packing gusty winds, hail and locally heavy rain will also target areas from Montana to Wyoming, Colorado and the Nebraska Panhandle on Saturday.

Sunday and Monday, the threat of severe weather will continue in portions of the Ohio Valley and will ramp up in the Northeast. The greatest threats these days will be damaging wind gusts, flash flooding and frequent lightning strikes.

After the cool air takes root in the Midwest during the early and middle portion of next week, waterspouts will be a threat to boaters, fishing and beach interests over the southern portion of the Great Lakes.

Comment: Can we now finally put the whole global warming nonsense to rest? This is going to be a summer without summer. Look for even higher food prices as crops fail all over the midwest.

Reader Comments

OldUncleDave · 2014-07-12T15:34:19Z

global weirding

While the midwest's temps will be below normal, here in Northern California the forecast is for ten to 15 degrees above normal this week. Go figure.

BabaJaiy · 2014-07-12T19:13:06Z

Ref: Global Warming.

..."Comment: Can we now finally put the whole global warming nonsense to rest? This is going to be a summer without summer. Look for even higher food prices as crops fail all over the midwest"...

And can we put this "summer without summer" and "..crops fail all over the midwest.." nonsense to rest as well?

I live just about in the middle of the so called polar vortex in the image above...and for about 10 years now have followed daily the local highs and lows for my region.

The past winter was the first in about the last 10 years that had many more below average temperatures than above. I self predicted we would have a late spring and late starting summer; Which turned out to be true. Normally blooming Lilacs at the and of April early May did not happen until the second/third week of May. I was sure we were in for a very cool summer.

But ever since Mid May it warm up considerably( compared to spring conditions ) and for the last 2 months has not let up. And meaning not let up as in we have had the most seasonal weather this summer so far that I have seen in many years. The temperatures have mostly been close to the average highs and low, and also just the right amount of sun and rain days ideal for crops.

The temperatures predicted for the coming week in no way will cause crop failures, quite the opposite. If we continue to have the summer that we have been up to now, even with the forcasted cooler week, we actually just may have a bumper crop for a number of plant varieties that just love the weather we have been having. Peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli to name a few. And APPLEs! are going to be tasty delicious from this type of weather; Will be a good year this fall to pack up the freezer with yummy apple pies.

And air in the city has been more fresh than ever for a summer, with all the fresh breezes coming in from the county side, far less ( actually none to date ) smoggy and muggy days indeed.

It's actually shaping up to be the best summer we have had in years, and that's coming from someone who loves the heat.