A pleasant Friday; near-normal July Fourth weekend temps
Update on rain chances
Thursday sure was summery. Metro area dew points were in the 60s and the official Twin Cities high temp was 93 degrees. Our average high temp is 83 this time of year. Thursday was the 10th day this year with a high of 90 degrees or higher at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Temps will retreat a bit on Friday.
Thunderstorms shift eastward
The potential for severe weather continues to shift eastward. The updated severe weather outlook from the NWS Storm Prediction Weather shows a slight risk of severe weather in mainly the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Thursday evening and overnight, with an isolated severe thunderstorm possible in the dark-green shaded area in Wisconsin:
There is a chance of an isolated non-severe thunderstorm in southeastern Minnesota.
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A severe thunderstorm watch continues until 11 p.m. this Thursday evening in portions of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Holiday weekend weather
A lot of people will probably begin their July Fourth holiday weekend Friday afternoon.
Friday highs will be in the 70s to the north, with 80s south:
Friday afternoon dew points will be comfortable; in the upper 40s to lower 50s.
Back to forecast high temps, lower 80s are possible Saturday in southern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin, with mainly 70s elsewhere:
On Sunday, many areas will top out in the 80s, with 70s to the north:
There could be some upper 60s near the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Highs on July Fourth will be mainly in the 80s in southern and central Minnesota, with 70s north:
There could be some upper 60s near the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Rain chances
Occasional scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There will be many more dry hours than wet hours at any given location. Check forecast updates.
Dry in some areas
Portions of the Rainy River Basin in north-central Minnesota are still dealing with flooding from the spring snowmelt and rains, but parts of Minnesota are dry right now.
The latest update from U.S. Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions (yellow) from southeastern Stearns County through the Twin Cities metro area and into south-central Minnesota:
Far southern portions of Faribault County and Freeborn County are in moderate drought. At this time last year, about 82 per cent of Minnesota was in drought.
Weather nugget
Through 7 p.m. today, just 1.13 inches of rain has been recorded this June at MSP airport. This could end up being the fifth-driest June in Twin Cities weather records.
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.