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Minnesota weather: The heat is coming back, but is far from locked in

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Minnesota weather: The heat is coming back, but is far from locked in


After a pleasant, although smoky, couple of days, temperatures will quickly soar starting this weekend and potentially extending through much of next week. But this is unlike many of our heat waves here in Minnesota as we may enter a rarely seen setup.

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A surge in temperatures is expected to develop in the southern Plains on Friday. These above-average temperatures will then quickly get transported northward Friday night and Saturday, thanks to gusty southerly breezes. This is likely the start of what could be a large “heat dome” that will develop and wobble over the Central Plains for several straight days. 

The animated map above shows the likely development of this dome of heat going into next week. Now, it doesn’t show temperatures exactly though. It’s called geopotential height with the red shaded colors indicating a higher height value when compared to what’s considered normal. One of the basic principles of the atmosphere is that air expands and contracts based on its temperature. The warmer the objects, the more they can expand. As temperatures rise, the overall depth of the atmosphere actually expands. This means the height of the atmosphere in warmer locations, like near the equator for example, are actually taller (farther away from the ground) than at the poles. Now, it’s not a HUGE difference in the grand scheme of things, but can vary by a few thousand feet. 

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Because of this natural feature though, computer models can estimate the depth of the atmosphere in the days ahead just like they would temperatures, precipitation, or wind speeds. That can give meteorologists an indication of the potential peak temperature for the days and weeks ahead. This doesn’t necessarily indicate temperatures down to the degree, as there are dozens of other factors that determine just how hot each location will be. But it often indicates whether there is a larger or smaller potential range for daily highs and lows. Think of it like a probability meter for us hitting 100 degrees here in Minnesota. The taller the atmosphere, the more likely it will be for us to get to the triple digits. So, the above-animated graphic shows the expanding atmosphere in the central U.S. essentially creating a dome of warmth, with the reds indicating the height of the atmosphere is significantly higher than average.

With this higher height, it gives us a higher likelihood of very warm temperatures and possible extremes in some cases. Those extreme temperatures can often show up in computer model data that many of us consume on our weather apps in the seven-, 10- and 14-day forecasts. This is well known in the weather community and adjusted for in our forecasts, but the average Joe rarely understands why this occurs. You can find out more about why your weather app forecast changes so much from hour to hour and is seemingly unreliable, by heading here

A more simplistic reason for the very hot temperatures is often the sheer lack of rain or even cloud cover underneath the dome. This dry weather can be easily seen on the rainfall forecast for the U.S.

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Any color on the map above indicates at least a trace of rainfall possible over the next seven days. Notice that a large portion of the central and eastern U.S. escapes any sort of rain into next week. This is all thanks to the high pressure associated with that dome that more or less circulates clockwise. This sends moisture around the periphery of this very hot air mass but keeps the hottest areas dry, further exacerbating the contrast in temperatures from inside and outside the dome. 

But here’s where the forecast enters uncharted waters. A hurricane in the eastern Pacific is strengthening and moving northward along the coast of Mexico. The current forecast from the National Hurricane Center has it potentially ending up in or around southern California late in the weekend. 

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While remnant tropical moisture is pretty common in the Desert Southwest this time of year, a full-blown organized tropical system of any kind is not. In fact, if this were to make landfall as any kind of tropical system in southern California, it would be the first to do so in the better part of a century. 

This is the wildcard to our heat. 

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Tropical systems bring with them plenty of heat and moisture and can exacerbate the current overall weather pattern for areas near or around them. While it doesn’t sound like we’re close enough to be impacted, because of the overall lack of anything other than a heat dome for much of the U.S., the dome itself will be influenced by where this system goes and therefore would affect temperatures for those experiencing the dome. 

Think of it like sitting next to a bonfire. It’s hot regardless of wind direction or wind speed. But say a person ran by the fire and changed the wind direction for even a brief period of time. That would change the amount of heat coming toward you one way or another, giving surrounding areas a “wobble” in temperatures. Something similar could happen in our atmosphere as the hurricane “runs” by, leading to varying degrees of heat depending on just how the dome wobbles, which can’t be forecasted before the tropical system makes landfall. 

Because of this, while temperatures are likely to be hot and well above average, exactly how warm we are on each day remains to be seen. Not to mention, exactly when the heat winds down is in flux as well. Stay tuned!

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How to get tickets for Minnesota Vikings vs. LA Rams NFC Wild Card playoff game

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How to get tickets for Minnesota Vikings vs. LA Rams NFC Wild Card playoff game


The final game of the NFL’s Wild Card weekend is set to take the Minnesota Vikings to LA to face the NFC West champion Rams Monday night at SoFi Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET, and tickets are still available to catch the action live.

How to get Vikings vs. Rams NFC Wild Card tickets: Seats are available for the NFC Wild Card matchup between the Vikings and Rams on secondary sites Vivid Seats, StubHub, SeatGeek and Viagogo.

As of Jan. 9, the starting prices were as follows:

  • Vivid Seats starting at $87
  • StubHub starting at $92
  • SeatGeek starting at $92
  • Viagogo starting at $91

#5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3) at #4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

NFC Wild Card Playoffs

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When: Monday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)

Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.

The Vikings had a shot to win the NFC’s top seed in Week 18, but fell short against the Detroit Lions, losing the NFC North Division and slipping to the No. 5 spot instead for a road matchup on Wild Card weekend. They are listed as 1-point favorites against the Rams after finishing the regular season with a 14-3 record and nine straight wins prior to last weekend’s 31-9 loss in Detroit. Though all the ingredients are in place for the Vikings to make a run, just three of their 14 victories this season came against playoff teams and one of their three losses came to the Rams (30-20) back in Week 8.

  • Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams NFC Wild Card tickets: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | Viagogo

The Rams found their way through an injury-marred start to the season and closed it out strong with five straight wins before resting starters in a Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (30-25). The highlight of that stretch and their season as a whole was a 44-42 shootout win over the Buffalo Bills that was fueled by two Kyren Williams touchdown runs and a big day from the receiving duo of Puka Nacua (12-162-1) and Cooper Kupp (5-92-1). The same combination of playmakers around quarterback Matthew Stafford are central to LA’s path to victory against Minnesota.



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If Arizona hosts Los Angeles Rams vs Minnesota Vikings due to fires, it wouldn’t be a first

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If Arizona hosts Los Angeles Rams vs Minnesota Vikings due to fires, it wouldn’t be a first


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There could still be one more football game played in Arizona this season. On Wednesday, the NFL announced that it has a contingency plan to potentially move Monday night’s wild-card game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams to State Farm Stadium due to ongoing wildfires raging across Southern California.

For now, the league is preparing for the game to take place at SoFi Stadium, the Rams’ home in Inglewood. But if a change of location is deemed necessary, the Cardinals’ stadium in Glendale would play host, giving Arizona its first playoff game — excluding Super Bowls — since the 2015 divisional round.

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It would, however, not be the first time that NFL teams have had to move to Arizona. Here are the other times that similar moves have occurred:

2020: San Francisco 49ers

Due to the spread of COVID-19 in the fall of 2020, Santa Clara County briefly banned all contact sports. That forced the San Francisco 49ers to play three home games at State Farm Stadium. The team used fields near the stadium as its practice facility and stayed at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel and Spa across the street.

2007: San Diego Chargers

It would not be unprecedented if the Rams had to make Arizona home due to fires. The then-San Diego Chargers practiced at the Cardinals’ Tempe facility for three days in 2007 due to the Witch Creek Fire, which forced 40 members of the organization to evacuate their homes. The team returned to San Diego for their game that Sunday, defeating the Houston Texans.

2003: San Diego Chargers

Four years earlier, the Chargers had a Monday Night Football game against the Dolphins moved to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. Again, the move was due to fires in Southern California, which caused poor air quality. The Chargers’ home field, Qualcomm Stadium, was also used as an evacuation center during the fires. Both teams flew to Arizona on game day for a game Miami won, 26-10. The NFL distributed 73,104 free tickets to the game.



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Boston Fleet fall to Minnesota Frost in overtime

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Boston Fleet fall to Minnesota Frost in overtime


Taylor Heise scored the overtime winner to lift the Minnesota Frost to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Fleet on Wednesday night

The win is the Frost’s third in as many games this season against the Fleet, and the second in seven days by an overtime finish. Hannah Bilka scored early on for the Fleet, making this the first time Boston has opened the scoring against Minnesota this season.

Later in the first period, Denisa Křížová scored her first goal of the campaign, tying the game at one and ending the game’s regulation scoring. Heise’s winner came at 3:20 of the extra frame on Minnesota’s first shot of overtime on Emma Söderberg, who stopped 24 shots throughout regulation. Maddie Rooney picked up her fourth win of the season with a 26-save performance.



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