To have a prayer of predicting weather we need a current snapshot of current weather, at all levels of the atmosphere, worldwide. A daunting task. NOAA collects and analyzes more than 6.3 billion observations per day. It issues about 1.5 million forecasts and 50,000 warnings every year.
We live on the ground (I think) but the troposphere, where "weather" takes place, is 12 miles thick. That's why the roughly 100 twice-daily weather balloon launches are so critical. Is the atmosphere ripe for tornadoes or flooding? Meteorologists need a 3D thumbprint of temperature, wind and moisture to determine when severe weather is imminent, and to fuel the supercomputers that give us a seven-day outlook.
A more stable atmosphere today should mean fewer showers; the best chance of puddles south of a line from Willmar to the Twin Cities. The big weather headline: 80s return Friday into early next week. A dry weekend gives way to a few more big, sloppy, rainy storms next week. Good news for fields, plants and lawns.
