First Burning Man, now the state fair. Rain is dampening festival season.

Midwest rainstorms this week were just the latest example of downpours dampening outdoor events this summer. As people flock to festivals across the country, these deluges can be a common disrupter for event planners and attendees. Over the weekend, rain also caused delays for people trying to enter the annual Burning Man festival in the northern Nevada desert — one year after heavy rainfall left some trapped on the grounds.

Storms sweep Minnesota State Fair

This year’s Minnesota State Fair runs until Sept. 2, but Tuesday’s opening was delayed two hours until 9 a.m. as crews assessed damage and cleaned up after the severe thunderstorms.

Two rounds of storms blew through the Twin Cities region — one around 8 p.m. Monday evening and another during the sunrise hours Tuesday. Both brought damaging winds gusting over 60 mph.

A massive tree snapped at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and several trees were downed on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. A gust of 64 mph was clocked shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday in St. Paul.

Monday evening’s storms brought golf ball-sized hail to Lester Prairie, about 30 miles west of downtown Minneapolis. Storm chasers captured footage of a probable tornado near New Ulm, about 75 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

The storms had left 130,000 customers without power in Minnesota and Wisconsin as of midmorning Tuesday.

They formed on the northern periphery of a heat dome, or a sprawling ridge of high pressure and hot air, that’s bringing triple-digit temperatures to the central states. Heat-index values in Minneapolis climbed to 103 degrees. Air temperature of 92 degrees combined with stifling humidity — made worse by moisture evaporated into the atmosphere by corn.

The storms exited east just in time for a stunning sunset. A photo posted on the Minnesota Twins X account depicts eerie maroon hues as amber light from the setting sun combines with the foreboding blue of receding storms. “Anvil crawlers,” sometimes known as “spider lightning,” spark along the underside of the storms’ expansive anvil cloud.

A rainbow arcs overhead — arguably the “biggest” rainbow one can ever see from the ground.

Storms on Tuesday were expected to shift east toward the Great Lakes, with additional threats for damaging winds and quarter-sized hail in Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.

Another year of delays at Burning Man

The annual Burning Man festival, held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, turned into a muddy mess for the second year after hours of rainfall. Festivalgoers huddled around closed gates after organizers delayed the festival kickoff 12 hours.

Organizers updated attendees for hours leading to the gate closures about possible rainfall forecasts on social media and on their personal weather spreadsheet.

The nine-day event, which draws tens of thousands of artistic minds to the barren, dusty desert, has been plagued by weather-induced disaster before. Last year, thousands got stuck in chaotic and muddy conditions after more than an inch of rain inundated the region. The mud trapped festivalgoers with limited food, no showers and restricted portable toilet use.

“2023 was an exceptional year for precipitation that created unique conditions and challenges for campers and travelers, as well as for the dusty alkaline surface of the playa,” festival officials said in a post.

Though the death of a male attendee at last year’s festival was not ruled a weather-related fatality, the rain and muddy conditions made it challenging for deputies to access the area and investigate, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a statement at the time.

A 39-year-old woman died Sunday during this year’s festival. Medical officials are working to determine the cause of death.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss,” festival officials said in a statement.

Rains flooded the Elements festival, too

Earlier this month, remnants from Hurricane Debby thrashed the four-day Elements Music & Art Festival at the Pocono Raceway with heavy rain and punishing winds, toppling camper tents, flooding the landscape and canceling an entire day of performances.

Concert organizers urged camping attendees to shelter in vehicles instead of tents.

While some cursed the conditions for ruining their festival weekend, others embraced the experience. After the bulk of the storm passed, the festival commenced. Lasers, strobe lights and flames danced around falling raindrops, and concertgoers danced in puddles.