The sun is shining bright over the fairgrounds for all the finishing touches ahead of the Great Minnesota Get Together. But Mother Nature isn't always this cooperative.

"We are certainly susceptible to severe weather during the period of the year when we have the state fair. And certainly that was the case last year , where we had a pretty bad thunderstorm, caused a little bit of damage here and there," said Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Climatologist Luigi Romolo.

Not only was there wind damage, but there was some heavy rain too. Across the 12 days of the fair last year, the Twin Cities picked up more than 2 inches of rain.

The wettest 12-day fair, however, was 1977 when more than 9 inches of rain fell.

"It typically rains about three or four days out of the 12-day str

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