Winter has come and gone and now, we have to start preparing for a different type of severe weather: severe storms and tornadoes.

Tornadoes aren’t too terribly common in the Duluth area, although not unheard of. They are a big threat in other parts of Minnesota, and that looks to be the case next week.

Get our free mobile app GET OUR FREE MOBILE APP

A popular weather analyst says we can expect a possible tornado outbreak across the state on Monday (April 28th). What an intense way to round out a month that started with snow!

This is a great time to brush up on your severe weather awareness, including what to do in the event that a severe storm or tornado does strike.

CPCollinsPhotography

Tornado Outbreak Possible In Minnesota Next Week

According to Midwest Weather, severe thunderstorms will threaten all of Minnesota and Wisconsin. For the Duluth area, we will see isolated to scattered storms throughout the day on Monday (April 29th).

However, some of these storms may lead to tornado activity, with the strongest storms hitting south of us in the metro.

When Will These Tornadoes Hit?

Midwest Weather says this tornado outbreak will happen on Monday and into the evening, writing the following:

A widespread tornado outbreak is increasingly likely Monday afternoon, evening, and into the overnight hours for a large portion of the region.

The National Weather Service Of Duluth is also forecasting strong and severe storms for our region, sharing an update on their social media pages Friday (April 25th).

According to their report, Monday is the day to keep your eye on, as conditions will be ‘favorable for thunderstorms and potential severe weather’ in our neck of the woods.

Make sure you have everything you need and stay weather aware. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a super severe storm in the Northland! This might just be the beginning.

KEEP READING: What to do after a tornado strikes

“Oh boy, extreme heat and fireworks! My favorite!”, said no dog ever. Our pooch (pictured above) doesn’t seem to care too much about noises except the sound of food hitting her dish. But not all pets are alike.

Excessive Heat Warnings are in place and fireworks stores are getting stocked for the upcoming 4th of July celebrations. Not exactly your pets favorite time of year. Some dogs are very sensitive to loud fireworks this time of year. Some dogs (and cats) get extremely stressed out.

Veterinarians warn that exposure to loud noises such as fireworks can put your pet in a state of distress and even create a bladder infection – especially for cats.

Read More: The Gas Pump Warning Nearly Everyone Ignores

“What ends up happening is they get an infection in the bladder and their urethra gets spasms…they get a functional obstruction and that can be fatal for them.” ~ Dr. Natara Loose on Fox News.

if your dog or cat is a real “nervous Nelly” it may stop eating for a while which is also not good news.

The RSPCA recommends a few tips to keep your pets calm during the explosive night that is the 4th.

Walk your dog during the day

Turn up the music in the house to help drown out the fireworks noise

Close the curtains or blinds. Believe it or not, pets don’t think fireworks are as cool as we do.

The other nugget of not-so-great news for your pets is the heat. A look at this weekend’s Sioux Falls weather from the National Weather Service:

Friday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Heat index values as high as 105.

Saturday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102.

Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Breezy.

30 Ways You Might Have Already Broken the Law Today Most of us try the best we can to be law-abiding citizens, but did you know that you may have been breaking the law without even realizing it?

BestLifeOnline has a list of 30 of the most common transgressions. How many have you been guilty of over the years?

Out of 30, I am guilty of 19. And no I won’t tell you which ones.

Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com

Hear this story

A May heat wave is scorching portions of the central United States with near record-breaking high temperatures, raising concerns about wildfires and heat stress on people not used to the summer-like warmth.

Temperatures will soar well into the 90s and may even approach 100 degrees through May 13 over a thousand square miles of the northern Plains, AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. This is significantly warmer than some locations in the southeast U.S., including Miami, Florida, which should only see highs in the mid-80s.

Extreme heat will also scorch much of Texas, where the National Weather Service warned that “many will not be acclimated to this type of heat so early within the year and thus the risk for heat-related illness is higher than normal. Please practice heat safety!”

Heat safety reminders include to “drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” the weather service said.

Days of downpours: Storm that soaked Southeast to drench Mid-Atlantic

Indeed, residents throughout the Plains should plan ahead to find ways to stay cool and hydrated.

In southern Texas, major heat-related impacts may stick around through the second half of the week, said meteorologist Peter Mullinax in the National Weather Service’s short-range forecast discussion.

High heat fuels wildfires

“In some cases, temperatures will be 30-40 degrees above the historical average for May and shatter daily record highs by several degrees,” Sosnowski said in an online forecast.

The dry heat is fueling wildfires in the upper Midwest, as another day of volatile fire weather is expected in northeast Minnesota on May 13, as crews continue to battle large wildfires burning out of control, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

AccuWeather warned that dry grasses and leaves leftover from the winter will become a prime source of fuel for any wildfire that ignites. “Small fires can rapidly escalate into major blazes and threaten lives and property,” Sosnowski said.

Texas also toasty

The heat will also be felt in Texas this week, with highs in the triple digits along the Rio Grande Valley and into central Texas.

Temperatures have a high chance of setting new daily record highs and are expected to near, if not exceed, all-time record highs for the month of May, the National Weather Service in New Braunfels, Texas, said.

The heat will continue May 14: “Wednesday (May 14) sees the footprint of 80s and 90s temperatures grow across the Heartland with the hottest temperatures once again making their home in Texas,” Mullinax said.

More opportunities for both record-breaking highs and record warm minimum temperatures will be common in parts of the Southern Plains and Upper Midwest through May 14, he added.

Mountain snow, cool West

Farther west, winter is hanging on in the northern Rockies, as Mullinax said there is some high-elevation mountain snow in parts of Montana and Wyoming. “Over a foot of snow is forecast across Montana’s southwest mountains, Wyoming’s western mountain ranges, and Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains. Treacherous travel for recreation in those areas are likely.”

This storm system also ushered in a considerably cooler air mass that will advance across the western U.S. through mid-week, he said. Temperatures from the West Coast to the Great Basin and Northern Rockies could be on the order of 10 to 20 degrees below normal May 13, with similar temperature anomalies throughout much of the Intermountain West on May 14.

ARLINGTON, Va. − Winter was making its ugly presence felt across most of the nation Sunday as a potent arctic blast fueled some of the coldest temperatures this winter season, with tens of millions bracing for snow and ice along the East Coast.

Temperatures dipped below zero in parts of the Upper Midwest, and wind chill temperatures crashed to minus-20 degrees in some areas. The cold was sweeping east into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast just in time for Inauguration Day. Washington, D.C., was expected to be so frigid the ceremony was moved indoors.

In Arlington, a few miles outside Washington, Gabriel Deukmaji enjoys walking his kids to their bus stop in the morning. But he expects he will drive them to school this week.

“There’s not enough hot coffee in the world to make standing at that bus stop feel like a good idea,” Deukmaji, 40, told USA TODAY.

More than 70 million people were under winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The wide-reaching impact of the extreme cold could include local economies, stress power grids with increased heating demands, force some schools to close, and endangering health with “real feel” temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees, AccuWeather Meteorologist Haley Taylor said.

Snow and ice will stretch from New England to the Gulf of Mexico in the next couple of days. Boston can expect 4 to 8 inches of snow Sunday night and Monday. Philadelphia could see 3 to 7 inches, while could get Washington 1 to 3 inches.

The South won’t be exempt: Charleston, South Carolina, could even see snow; New Orleans was bracing for ice.

“Okay, y’all, it’s time to get ready!” the Weather Service in Charleston said on social media. “Bitterly cold temps & accumulating snow & ice will occur this week. Take advantage of today’s last bit of warmth to get your home, car & self ready for the upcoming winter weather.”

Developments:

∎ Over 1,100 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were canceled by Sunday night, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Another 5,380 flights were delayed. The airports most impacted included Newark Liberty International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

∎ The weather service said Sunday afternoon that light rain and sleet with continue east of Interstate 95 with the “transition to snow in the northern/western suburbs of Washington DC/Baltimore.”

∎ The weather service office in New Orleans warned that cold weather there will have the greatest impact Monday through Thursday, but hazardous travel is expected Tuesday and into Wednesday. “The heaviest snow will fall during the day Tuesday,” the weather service said.

∎ Subfreezing temperatures are possible Tuesday as far south as southeast Mississippi, southwest Alabama and the western Florida panhandle, the weather service said.

Officials declare emergencies due to storm threat

Several state and local officials have declared emergencies ahead of the heavy snow and cold temperatures. The quick-moving storm was forecast to blanket the lower Hudson Valley and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut with 5 to 8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

A cold weather emergency was activated in the nation’s capital D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Sunday on X. “Temperatures will be dangerously low overnight,” Bowser warned.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for Sunday that took effect at 8 a.m. and applies to all 21 counties. Gov. Jeff Landry also issued a state of emergency “in preparation for the winter weather expected to hit Louisiana.”

In anticipation of the heavy snow, transportation officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have implemented highway restrictions for vehicles. At least a half dozen municipalities have issued snow emergencies in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, according to the Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.

A snow emergency is a declaration by a township manager, police, and public works departments when a winter snow and ice conditions are severe enough to require that vehicles should not be parked on public streets.

‘Dangerously cold wind chills’

Subzero wind chills are forecast to reach the southern Plains on Sunday night, which will last until Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Hazardous cold weather will likely linger along the Gulf Coast and the Southeast U.S. through much of the week.

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh warned that “periods of dangerously cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures.”

In Cleveland, the weather service warned that “the long duration of this cold will lead to greater impacts to infrastructure, including increased risk of frozen pipes, dead car batteries and structure fires. There is an increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of secondary heat indoors.”

Cold, snow mean not-quite business as usual

Much of Arlington remains blanketed from a storm that blasted the area two weeks ago. Deukmaji is a home builder and Realtor, so he also understands the economic concerns Taylor mentioned.

The home building business won’t stop, but things like wiring aren’t “exactly easy when you can’t feel your hands,” Deukmaji said. Selling homes in severe temperatures also can be complicated by weather. He recalled a vacant home on the market where a pipe burst and the house “looked like an ice cave with icicles everywhere from the ceiling and a layer of ice on the floor.”

If another 1-3 inches falls as forecast, Deukmaji said he and other neighbors with snowblowers will help dig out their block once again.

“One of the best parts about living in our neighborhood is that we all help one another when there’s a storm like this,” he said.

Midwest temps could reach minus 30 degrees

The core of the cold front will slam across North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday, when the high might not reach 0 degrees. Overnight temperatures were projected to drop as low as 30 degrees below zero, AccuWeather warned.

Minneapolis was among some locations projected to be at or below the 0-degree mark Sunday and part of Monday. That could strain the energy supply as residents trying to keep their homes and businesses warm enough, AccuWeather said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the extreme cold will expand eastward to places such as Philadelphia, where daytime temperatures will only climb into the upper teens. The last time the City of Brotherly Love observed a high temperature in the teens was more than two years ago, AccuWeather said.

Winter storm targets Mid-Atlantic, Northeast

People along the East Coast will have to deal with snow in addition to the cold: Snow began Sunday morning across Virginia and into the DelMarVa peninsula. It was expected to progress north along the I-95 corridor throughout the day, then reach southern New England Sunday evening.

“The swath of heaviest snow from this event is expected between the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and Boston,” the weather service said.

Even dead-of-winter daily low records could be threatened

This cold snap is coming at the peak of winter, so daily record-low temperatures are the lowest of the year. Don’t be fooled, forecasters warn. Washington will see single digits. Temperatures in New Orleans will dip below freezing, and wind chills will be in the teens.

“Some record-low temperatures will likely be broken,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.

What you should do to prepare for the cold:

To prepare for the cold, the weather service recommends:

∎ Dress in layers including a hat, face mask and gloves if you must go outside.

∎ To prevent water pipes from freezing, wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.

∎ Keep pets indoors as much as possible.

∎ Make sure outdoor animals have a warm, dry shelter, food and unfrozen water.

∎ Make frequent checks on older family, friends and neighbors.

∎ Ensure portable heaters are used correctly. Do not use generators or grills inside.

Contributing: Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times

After a shocking shooting, Americans vent feelings about health insurance

toggle caption Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Yolonda Wilson is one of many people who shared painful stories about health insurance gone wrong on social media this week.

Her insurer, UnitedHealthcare, denied coverage for a surgery about two days before it was scheduled, back in January. She finally got it approved, in the nick of time, with a lot of unnecessary stress and tears. “I did not know until Wednesday afternoon whether I would be able to have surgery Thursday morning,” she told NPR.

Wilson, a professor of Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University in Missouri, noted that she was telling her personal story, not speaking on behalf of the university.

Sponsor Message

The shocking, targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Wednesday struck a nerve on social media, triggering an outpouring of negative experiences with the tangled health care system in the U.S.

Many people shared searing stories of health care denials from health insurers. One person said his mom’s scan to check on her stage IV lung cancer was recently denied. In another post, a dad shared the letter UHC sent him denying a wheelchair for his son with cerebral palsy.

“A lot of people are in deep pain, and maybe didn’t have anywhere to put that pain,” Wilson says.

Wilson says she’s not celebrating that a man was killed, though certainly some people on social media were. She calls that a “dark impulse” that might stem from people’s unresolved feelings of hurt and helplessness.

“Health care is deeply personal,” Wilson says. “We don’t often have ways to kind of talk about our frustrations. And so I think that this became that moment — like, something was struck in this moment.”

UnitedHealthcare has not yet responded to a request for comment on Wilson’s case, but its parent company, UnitedHealth Group released a statement late Thursday, saying, “We, at UnitedHealth Group, will continue to be there for those who depend upon us for their health care.”

Sponsor Message

UnitedHealthcare is the biggest private health insurer in the U.S., with an outsized market share in both the commercial insurance and Medicare Advantage markets. UnitedHealth Group reported $371.6 billion in revenue last year and faces an antitrust lawsuit to block its $3.3 billion acquisition of a rival home health and hospice service.

Americans generally say they’re pretty happy with their health insurance, according to survey data from health policy research organization KFF — unless they’re sick. Those with “fair” or “poor” health are nearly twice as likely to be displeased with their insurance compared to those with “good” health.

Health policy research going back decades shows the American health care system is uniquely maddening to deal with.

Pam Herd, a professor of social policy at the University of Michigan who studies administrative burdens involved in accessing government services, says barriers to health care access are especially painful.

“It’s one thing to be frustrated at the DMV because you have a ton of paperwork to fill out or you have to spend an hour in line,” she says. “It’s a whole other thing to face those barriers when they are the difference between whether you’re going to get life-saving care or not.”

Herd’s research shows how barriers in the health care system can affect people’s actual health — whether it’s calling several times to just get an appointment or trying to find an in-network specialist or fighting to get a procedure covered.

“It’s not just time,” she says. “It’s also these sort of other psychological costs that people experience in those encounters: stress, fear, frustration, anxiety.”

She says it’s the complexity of the whole U.S. health system and its sky-high costs overwhelms people — health insurance is just one part of that. It’s something that comes into relief when Americans visit or live in other countries, she adds.

Sponsor Message

“We focus a lot, right, on the cost of U.S. health care, generic access, rates of uninsurance — and those things are really, really important, to be clear,” she says. “But I think sometimes what slips under the radar is just how difficult, time consuming, frustrating it is for people to navigate our system.”

Carmel Wroth edited and contributed to this report.