It was a hot, humid, record-breaking weather week for Brainerd lakes area folks.
The lakes area endured eight of 10 days in June that were 90 degrees or hotter, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth.
Numerous longstanding weather records were broken, one of which lasted 88 years.
Lead Meteorologist Patrick Ayd of the National Weather Service of Duluth said breaking this many records in one week is more than just a rare occurrence.
“It’s a very abnormal warm stretch there where we broke multiple records, whether it was high temperatures or warm overnight low temperatures,” Ayd said. “And, obviously, breaking one record is rare but when you're breaking a number of them in a row over a multiple stretch of days is abnormal and just a sign of how strong that heat wave was across much of the region.”
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Ayd said generally the warmest temperatures are in August, a month when it typically is not as dry as it has been this month. Precipitation also has been low and the lakes area has seen only an 18th of an inch of precipitation, compared to the normal 1.28 inches.
“We have been so dry across a good portion of the upper Midwest,” Ayd said. “The dry conditions we’ve had tends to lead to a little more efficient heating, so that probably helped us get a little bit warmer than we would have if we were a little bit more normal, having a bit more moisture out there.”
The lowest temperature this week — not counting Friday, June 11 — was 90 degrees Monday and the hottest was 97 Thursday. Friday started out cooler at 75 degrees just before 9 a.m. The expected high Friday was expected to reach 84.
As of Thursday, the highest temperature in June in the Brainerd lakes area was 100 degrees set June 4 and the lowest temperature was 40 degrees on June 1.
June 1 was the coldest day this month with a high of 79, with June 2 as the second coldest at 84 degrees.
Then came the heat wave, with a string of days with 90 degree or higher temperatures in the Brainerd area, breaking six records in a seven day period. The records broken were:
A record high of 100 degrees June 4 broke the previous record of 89 set in 1988;
A record high of 96 degrees June 5 broke the previous record of 92 degrees set in 1952;
A record maximum low of 66 degrees was set June 6 breaking the old record of 65 degree set in 1939;
A record maximum low of 74 degrees was set June 7 breaking the old record of 68 degree set in 1959;
Temperature high June 8 was 95, but no record-breaking temperatures were recorded;
A record high of 96 degrees June 9 broke the previous record of 93 degrees set in 1970.
A record high of 97 degrees June 10, broke the previous record of 95 set in 1933.
June temperatures have averaged about 92.3 degrees. The normal for the month is 74.6 degrees.
Brainerd detailed forecast
Saturday, June 12: Sunny, with a high near 83. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. At night, mostly clear, with a low around 58. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph to become light and variable, with wind gusting as high as 20 mph.
Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 91. Light south wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. At night, a low around 60. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light northwest with winds gusts as high as 20 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 86. Light northwest wind becoming north 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
