The “Superstorm” Hit the Twin Cities 33 Years Ago; Will History Repeat Itself?

During the evening of July 23rd, 1987 and continuing into the early morning hours of the 24th, more than 10” of rain fell at the Twin Cities International Airport. The so-called “Superstorm” kicked off with a destructive tornado in Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park and morphed into a high-intensity precipitation event that caused massive flash flooding. Climatologist Kenny Blumenfeld and Jim du Bois recall the “Superstorm” and the weather conditions that preceded it. Blumenfeld says “the ingredients were not tremendously different from what we’re looking at on Saturday,” but he cautions that a similar storm cannot be predicted, particularly for one particular place, “unless a lot of things come together.” In any event, look for dangerous heat today and Saturday as well as the possibility of severe weather and very heavy rains. Also, we may break what Blumenfeld calls “a nerdy record” if a meteorological value called precipitable water (PWAT) reaches a historic high tomorrow.