Areas of light rain Thursday morning
Northern Minnesota sees near-critical fire conditions
A weak cold front moving across Minnesota is causing a few showers and will also create windy conditions that increase the fire danger.
Thursday’s weather
Much like Wednesday, Minnesota is starting the day Thursday with a weak cold front moving across the state.
As of 7 a.m., it is bringing a line of mostly light rain showers through central Minnesota and heading south.
Some of that light rain may move through the Twin Cities around 8 or 9 a.m., although the line is diminishing as it heads south.
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The rain should completely clear southern Minnesota by late morning, and rain totals will be predominantly under a tenth of an inch.
Morning temperatures range from 50s north to a few 70s south.
By the afternoon, there will be a large temperature contrast, with northern Minnesota getting the brunt of the cooler air and making it only into the 60s, while southern Minnesota sees low 80s for highs.
The cold front reinforces the drier air and low humidity that previous fronts had already brought back to Minnesota. Afternoon humidity levels will be low, in the 20 and 30 percent range.
The front also brings gusty winds by the afternoon, with much of the state seeing gusts of 20 to 30 mph or higher.
This combination of dry and windy conditions puts northern Minnesota in an elevated fire risk Thursday afternoon.
The weekend stays mostly dry and sunny, and rain chances remain slim until the middle of next week.
That extended forecast will be updated around 9 a.m.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.