Hot weather arrives early in Brainerd lakes area

The outdoors were barely hospitable for area residents and visitors Sunday and Monday, June 19-20, when temperatures skyrocketed.

From Backus to Nisswa, temperatures remained in the mid to high 90s both days, with that number breaking records in Brainerd and surrounding areas.

"Brainerd ended up having a high of 100 yesterday," Krystal Kossen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth, said Tuesday morning. "And that doesn't include the heat index, which went up to 102."

Kossen said Brainerd set a new daily record with that temperature. The old temperature, set in 1988 was 93 degrees. Temperatures are also up early compared to past years.

"Typically, around this time of year, we see temperatures in the low 70s," Kossen said. "So yeah, this is definitely out of the ordinary. We don't usually see temperatures this high until late July. Usually even then we don't see heat indexes into the hundreds. We broke records across the entire area."

Nancy Vogt / Echo Journal

Those near Brainerd who once again experienced high winds and power outages may have the high temperatures to thank.

"With hot air being transported from the south, we have a lot of moisture and a lot of heat being transported, which is what led to our high temperatures yesterday," Kossen said. "Those really fuel storms. Those storms came through later that evening as a front came through. That's definitely a recipe for some strong storms. When you have a hot environment and then cold air from the storm tends to sink really fast and that's where you get those high winds from."

People may find respite later this week.

"We're looking at temperatures in the mid 80s for today and tomorrow," Kossen said. "We might get back in the 90s on Thursday and mid 80s on Friday again. For the weekend we start to cool back into the mid 70s. We're getting back to around normal temperatures."

Kossen said the weather service doesn't anticipate any more storms this week.

• Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
• Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. West wind around 5 mph becoming south after midnight.
• Thursday: A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 89. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Thursday night: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
• Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
• Friday night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Saturday: A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Sunday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 78. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Travis Grimler is a staff writer for the Pineandlakes Echo Journal weekly newspaper in Pequot Lakes/Pine River. He may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com.