Drying out here, Florida and Gulf Coast hurricane threat grows
A cool front blows welcome drier breezes across the Upper Midwest today.
That's good news for flood ravaged residents in northeast Iowa, where flash flood emergencies were posted this morning by the National Weather Service office in La Crosse, Wis.
Rainfall totals of between 5 and 8 inches drove rivers in northeast Iowa 10 to 15 feet higher this morning.
Extensive flooding has washed out roads and in some cases, vehicles.
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The Turkey River at Spillville, Iowa, southwest of Decorah, came up an incredible 15-plus feet this morning, making it the new flood of record.
If you have a flood story from northeast Iowa, please shoot me an email. We may want to use your voice on Friday morning on MPR News.
Drying out
Rainfall coverage in the Twin Cities was spotty, but some areas around the Twin Cities picked up another inch of rainfall overnight.
Drying high pressure builds in across Minnesota Thursday and Friday.
Our next chance for rain arrives Saturday. Until then we enjoy some much needed sunshine and lower humidity.
Euro: Hurricane threat for Florida and Gulf Coast
The hurricane model wars are on once again. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System model continues to downplay a potential Hurricane Hermine.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model forecasts a very different outcome: a potential strike on the Florida coast and a potential double landfall along the Gulf Coast next week.
The storm track spaghetti models are converging on a South Florida solution.
It's still to early to be precise with storm track this weekend, but the European model still favors a strong tropical storm, or Category 1 hurricane near Miami Saturday night.
The European model crosses the storm into the Gulf, and intensifies it into a potentially major hurricane as it approaches the Gulf Coast by next Tuesday.
NOAA's Hurricane Hunters are flying into the storm once again today.
Stay tuned.