Welcome to Miami: Tropical downpours, landspouts?

Welcome to Florida.

Our current weather pattern mimics tropical climates with steamy tropical air masses and weak steering currents. Bright sunny mornings give way to puffy towering afternoon cumulus clouds. Tropical dew points in the 70s provide fuel for blossoming localized thundershowers. Weak winds and steering currents allow storms to drift aimlessly dumping locally heavy rain underneath.

Radars lit up with localized downpours blooming along a weak frontal boundary Thursday afternoon from parts of the Twin Cities westward to the South Dakota border.

Landspouts

Our steamy rising air mass can trigger landspouts. Landspouts are similar to waterspouts in tropical areas like the Florida Keys.

NOAA elaborates on landspouts.

Another type of non-supercell tornado is a landspout. A landspout is a tornado with a narrow, rope-like condensation funnel that forms while the thunderstorm cloud is still growing and there is no rotating updraft – the spinning motion originates near the ground.

Waterspouts are similar to landspouts, except they occur over water. Damage from these types of tornadoes tends to be EF2 or less.

The Twin Cities NWS office sent out a rare and interesting special weather statement on the potential for funnels and landspouts Thursday. Note the rare narrow line of counties highlighted along the frontal boundary zone.

This photogenic funnel cloud was captured between New Ulm and Willmar Thursday afternoon.

Here’s another funnel captured Thursday afternoon.

Locally heavy rainfall

We’re trending dry across much of southern Minnesota on a line from the Twin Cities southward. Thursday’s updated U.S. Drought Monitor cuts off data Tuesday morning, so it won’t include the multi-inch rainfall observed across southern Minnesota Tuesday evening.

Thursday’s localized downpours produced more than an inch of beneficial rainfall in some areas. If you were lucky enough to get under one, you won the rainfall bingo lottery.

Tropical forecast

Expect our warm humid days to continue through the upcoming weekend. Isolated thunder cells may fire again Friday afternoon. Here’s a quick look at the Twin Cities area forecast through the weekend.

Sunday brings a chance for storms and possible severe weather to most of Minnesota.

Stay tuned.