Travis Clark-Smith

We all do it. We open up our phones, we get on the internet, we look at that radar to see if there are any storms coming and how strong they might be.

Strong to severe thunderstorms rolled through Minnesota and Iowa Thursday evening, producing severe wind gusts, which led to power outages and trees knocked down. Here's a look at some of the latest severe weather reports:

Tornadoes are confirmed when the National Weather Service surveys damage and gives the tornado a rating. Sometimes it can be difficult to survey, like if one touches down in a corn field. So how do those tornadoes get rates?

Another warm, sunny Tuesday afternoon features that milky, hazy sky that we have become familiar with thanks to raging wildfires out west and up north. So far, though, air quality has not been affected. Why is that and how could it change?

"The moon in June is a big balloon." Yes, it is September and that saying doesn't really make sense right now, but it will. The moon has a lot going on Tuesday night.

Today was the last day of summer, and the season sure wasn't ending quietly. The mercury soared into the upper 80s and even low 90s for high temps on Saturday. Rochester recorded a high of 87, Austin and Charles City hit 90, and Mason City topped out at 93 degrees. The average high temp for September 21 is 70.

With a little bit of time left to view these gorgeous displays of fall colors, thoughts are turning to how to clean up the leaves that have fallen to the ground. Some rake, some mow, some say leave the leaves. Is there one way that is better than others?

KIMT Stormteam 3 meteorologist Travis Clark-Smith talks about Comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS which could be visible in time for Halloween.

All dense Fog Advisories have been allowed to expire, however, visibility remains under one mile in many locations across the area.

Friday is starting off around the freezing mark for most locations, with steady temperatures likely throughout the day, only topping out around 36 degrees. Winds out of the northwest around 10 mph will keep wind chills down into the low to mid 20s.