Weekend forecast: Hot; rain-free during the daylight hours
Dew points lowest on Sunday
We could all use some rain.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows that 72 percent of Minnesota is in either extreme drought (shaded red) or severe drought (shaded orange):
18.5 percent of Minnesota is in extreme drought, according to U.S. Drought Monitor.
I should note that the data cutoff for the drought report is 7 a.m. on Tuesday, so any rainfall since that time is not included in the report.
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Most of the Twin Cities metro area is in moderate drought (shaded beige) according to U.S. Drought Monitor, with severe drought in much of Anoka County.
Portions of southern Wisconsin and northern and central Iowa are also in drought right now.
Extreme or exceptional drought conditions cover much of North Dakota, South Dakota and the western U.S.
Rain chances
Parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see some showers and a few embedded thunderstorms this Thursday.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
We’ll also have a chance of showers and some embedded thunderstorms Friday evening and overnight Friday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from Friday afternoon through 7 a.m. on Saturday:
The daylight hours of Saturday look dry in most areas. Sunday is looking rain free at this point.
Weekend temps and dew points
Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 84 degrees this time of year. The metro area could reach the mid-90s this Saturday. Many locations will see highs in the 90s on Saturday, with 80s in far northern Minnesota:
Saturday dew points will be in the sticky 60s in southern Minnesota, with comfortable 50s to the north:
Back to forecast high temps, Sunday highs will top 90 degrees in the south with 80s in northern Minnesota.
Sunday dew points will be in the comfortable 50s.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.