July breeze Friday; 30 degrees colder next week

We continue to lead charmed weather lives in Minnesota this month.

Our late summer-like weather pattern lingers across most of Minnesota through Saturday. Temperatures surged into the 80s with a few 90s upstream across the Dakotas Thursday. This warm air mass slides into Minnesota Friday.

Tale of two seasons

It’s a tale of two seasons across Minnesota through Saturday. The northern half of Minnesota feels more like early fall, with scattered rain and high temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Southern Minnesota feels like summer and stays dry through Saturday.

Highs push into the 80s again Friday across much of southern Minnesota.

We may see another band of thicker smoke mute the sun and normally blue sky color again Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s HRRR vertically integrated smoke product shows a smoke front sailing across Minnesota once again Friday.

I count seven of the past nine days with significant smoke plumes over Minnesota.

Cold front Saturday night

A cold front cuts across Minnesota late Saturday. Winds shift into the northwest behind the front. Scattered rain and thunder will develop along the frontal zone late Saturday.

Here’s NOAA’s 2.5-day weather map sequence through 7 p.m. Saturday.

Pattern change next week

The upper air pattern across North America drives even colder Canadian air from Minnesota into the Great Lakes next week.

Highs temperatures by next Thursday hover in the lower 50s in the Twin Cities, with 40s up north. That’s about 30 degrees colder than we will be on Friday.

There are signs of somewhat milder weather again after next week.

Stay tuned.