Midwest Storm Sets New Low Pressure Record

Even if you aren’t a big weather fan, you’ve probably seen some stories, images, or videos from the powerful storm moving across the Midwest this week. Powerful storms are somewhat common this time of year as cold fronts from Canada swoop down and collide with warmer air that is still lingering from the summer months. This storm is a record setter though.

Yesterday in Minnesota the storm set a new record with the lowest pressure for a non-tropical, land-based system with a barometric pressure reading of 954mb. Although the storm is quite different from a hurricane, that central pressure is the equivalent pressure you would find in a Category 3 hurricane.

The weather map below shows the powerful storm yesterday with its tightly packed isobars. Isobars are those lines which connect points of equal atmospheric pressure. The closer together they are, the stronger the winds.