Heat travels from Arizona to Blooming Prairie

Whew!
It sure is hot out there today. Summer has arrived with temperatures hovering in the 90s and pushing toward three digits in the hundreds.
Judy and I just returned from eight days in Arizona and brought the heat back with us. In fact, temperatures in the 90s started in Minnesota late last week and moved toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperatures in the 100s this time of the year is typical for Arizona. We saw temperatures exceeding 107 degrees in Arizona. It's a dry heat, many westerners claim but I don't care, any temp over 100 is HOT!
Temps actually hit 99 on Saturday and will stay with us for the next five days. Temps return to the 80s on Friday.
Let's take a look at some of our HOT temperatures in Minnesota throughout history. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says the worst record for a heat wave in Minnesota was marked from July 5-18, 1936.
The state Climatology Office Minneapolis and St. Paul has hit 100 66 times since modern records started in 1873.
Weather maps of the time displayed a sprawling high-pressure area covering the entire U.S. east of the Rockies, and jutting as far north as Hudson Bay at times. This placed the entire Plains and Midwest regions in southwesterly flow, meaning that when the winds blew, they came straight out of the Sonoran Desert. These hot, dry winds primed the entire region for a prolonged and record-shattering heat event. 
The DNR records indicate that Minnesota temperatures were 90 degrees or higher for 14 straight days including eight days with high temperatures at or above 100 degrees F. That's more 100-degree days than the state recorded for all of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s combined.
The all-time heat high was 115 degrees F on July 29, 1917 in Beardsley, which is in Big Stone County.
Remember, the temperatures we are mentioning were recorded during the time when we had no air conditioning. During these heat wave days, we had no rain.
This onslaught of heat in 1936 caused heat exhaustion, heat stroke and up to 900 deaths in Minnesota. This said to be the state's worst weather events on record.
The DNR report says a return to similar conditions in 1936 would increase the likelihood of high temperature extremes.
The Minnesota Monthly magazine has come up with 10 ways to beat the Minnesota heat. Try these suggestions:
1) Visit the Minnesota Zoo.
2) Get some ice cream at your favorite store.
3) Visit an indoor water park in Bloomington, Minneapolis, Alexandria and Duluth.
4) Visit Soak City at Valleyfair.
5) Find one of many beaches in Minnesota.
6) Mall of America has roller coasters, an aquarium, tax-free shopping on clothes and shoes, high-class dining and a great nightlife scene.
7) Museums like the Walker Art Museum, Minnesota Children's Theatre and the Minnesota Institute of the Arts.
8) Go to the movies.
9) Go to a Minnesota Lynx game at the Target Center, Minneapolis.
10) Sip cocktails at your favorite bar-restaurant.
Stay cool and have fun this summer!