Last week was very cool and we had our first heavy rain of the month, though not as much as most of the metro. For the week, temperatures were almost 10 degrees below average, a huge departure from average for a Jonathan Cohensummer month. The high of 61 degrees on Friday, July 17, was a record low high for the date. High temperatures for the week were 13 degrees below average, as we did not even reach 80 degrees once. We have only reached 80 degrees twice in July with the high being a very modest 82 degrees on July 10.
The steady rain in the early hours of Tuesday, July 21, was very welcome, though it was much less than what fell in other areas, especially the east metro, as an observer in North St. Paul had exactly 1 inch more than what rain fell here. Parts of the area had up to .2 inch of rain from a thunderstorm on Wednesday, July 22, but we only saw a trace of rain that day. The lack of rain this summer has dropped the level of Prior Lake to 899.5 feet, the lowest level since 1991.
Next week, we reach the midpoint of summer as the average temperature peaks at 73 degrees from July 24 to July 28 before starting a slow fall. Actual temperatures should be much higher than they have been, but still a bit below average. The more active weather pattern should continue as more showers are likely before the weekend and then there is a chance of more rain early next week.

By Jonathan Cohen, Prior Lake observer for the Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District