Why Did It Feel So Hot in Southeast Minnesota? Blame the Dew Point!

Our first really intense stretch of hot weather ended Sunday here in southeast Minnesota, with cooler weather and lower humidity finally entering the area. But what was it that made this heat wave feel so uncomfortable?

That'd be the high dew point. And, as KTTC's Matt Benz explained, we hit some really high dew points here in Rochester late last week. As Matt said, "The dew point is the measure of moisture in the air and the main reason why it was downright miserable to be outdoors."

When the dew point gets north of 70 degrees (which makes it feel like it does in the tropics), it feels pretty oppressive. When it hits 80 degrees, it feels really uncomfortable. Well, guess what?  Matt said, we hit a dew point of 80 degrees on Thursday, July 21st-- the first time that's happened in over 5 years!

No wonder things felt so hot. It wasn't that the temperatures were all that high, but it was that pesky high dew point that made it feel so sticky. I'm glad our dew points are more normal now-- it actually felt nice to be outside Sunday.

ABC-6 meteorologist Cindy Morgan also noted that our infamous dew points were on the way down yesterday morning, too-- which, if you're like me, was welcome news!