July saw above-average rainfall, near-average temperatures despite hot end to month
MINNEAPOLIS — It was definitely a bumpy end to July with severe storms marching across the state, bringing damaging wind and massive hail.
Chokio saw a hailstone nearly 6 inches in diameter, the largest reported in the state in more than 55 years.
"I mean I've heard of softball-sized hail, but not around Minnesota by all means. This is unbelievable. This could kill someone if it hits someone," said Matt Benson, who found the hailstone in his yard.
In the Twin Cities, July 31 was the wettest day of the month with more than 1.2 inches of rain, a daily record. Add that up with the 17 other days with rain, the metro saw over 5.5 inches last month, which is about 1.5 inches above average.
Some of that rain came from severe storms in the middle of the month too, that brought more large baseball-sized hail and damaging winds over 80 mph.
Along with the recent rain came the heat and humidity. All five of Minnesota's 90-degree days this year were in July; four of them in the last five days. That tally is still short by about half of the typical number seen during summer.
Overall, Minnesota had an average July temperature of about 74 degrees, which is close to average.
Looking ahead, the temperature outlook for August is still a toss up, in large part due to the transition from El Nino to La Nina. As for rain, it is a bit more likely that Minnesota will see more than average over the next four weeks.