Drought continues

Smoky sunshine for the weekend

Minnesota is on the eastern fringe of a huge heat dome centered over Montana. High temperatures on Saturday will be coolest in southern Minnesota where highs will be mainly in the low 80s. Most of Minnesota should have afternoon highs in the mid to upper 80s while the northwest will heat into the toasty low 90s. The Twin Cities will have a high around 88.

Flow around that high pressure ridge continues to bring us smoke from Canadian wildfires. Most of that smoke remains aloft but recently some of it has been mixing down to the surface where we smell it and breathe it. An air quality alert remains in place this Saturday morning for portions of northern Minnesota.

Sunday will likely be a degree or two warmer for most of us. And the smoke will continue.

Next week hot and more humid with few rain chances

That heat dome is forecast to slide a bit farther east next week. Our temperatures will respond by warming into the mid 80s to low 90s around the state on most days. The one cool area will be along the North Shore whenever the breeze flows in off Lake Superior.

While spotty showers can pop up when weak atmospheric ripples ride along the jet stream, no major rainmakers seem to be headed our way. The best chance for rain across central Minnesota and the Twin Cities area might be about next Wednesday or Thursday.