River on the verge of dropping

After hovering above flood stage, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is poised to start dropping rapidly. It should plummet below flood stage on Monday.

While very little rainfall is expected here during the next week, heavy rain is projected for Minnesota and surrounding states. This may bump up the river level in the future.

Summer outlook

Now that summer has officially arrived, what kind of weather is in store for the next three months? It's always a safe bet to forecast "hot and humid" this time of year, but just how hot and humid will it get?

Well, I don't know. The long-range projections aren't much help: the one-month and three-month outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center don't show any particular pattern. We're in the "EC" zone for equal chances of above-average, normal, or below-average temperatures.

At least that's better than last year, when we were firmly within the red above-average zone for months on end.

Super moon... meh

This weekend will bring a "super moon", or a full moon brighter than usual thanks to the moon's elliptical orbit.

Don't get too excited about the hype, though. According to an Associated Press story, "skywatchers won't be able to notice the difference with the naked eye."