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We're used to rain, snow, sleet, and hail but now there's actual mud falling from the sky in Minnesota?

Mother Nature has been known to throw a lot at us here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, right? I mean, one of the nice features of living in Minnesota is the fact that we get to experience four distinct weather seasons every year. (Heck, sometimes every WEEK.)

And during any of those seasons, it's not unusual to see hail, rain, sleet, or even snow falling across the North Star State. We're NOT, however, all that used to seeing MUD fall from the sky. But that's what happened Monday to parts of the Bold North-- and it wasn't even mud that was native to Minnesota!

Twin Cities meteorologist Sven Sundgaard explained the phenomenon in several posts on his Twitter page earlier this week. Basically, we can blame the extended drought that's affecting much of the middle section of the country (including parts of Minnesota)  along with the low-pressure system that produced showers across the state. As this MPR story explained:

The combination of high-level winds carrying dust from the Great Plains, and a trace of rain to bring it to the ground, left a dirty patina on cars and trucks across parts of Minnesota Monday morning.

Of course, this isn't the only time such a thing has happened in our fair state. You might remember how, back in March of 2019, many vehicles in Rochester and southeast Minnesota were coated with a similar brownish, red grime. Back then, that dirty coating was courtesy of dust from way down in Texas and New Mexico that got swept up in the atmosphere and found its way here when it rained.

I didn't notice any extra dirt on my SUV Monday, so it looks like Rochester might have been spared from the dusty phenomenon this time around. Did you get any grime on your vehicle Monday?

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