Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Forecast on a stick: Near ideal State Fair weather Thursday and Friday

The weekend brings a few spotty passing storms and more humidity.

A crowd of people at the fair.
A crowd packs onto the street on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, Aug 22, 2019.
Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News

It’s back, Minnesota!

The 2022 edition of our Great Minnesota Get Together kicks off Thursday morning. The gates could open to a little patchy fog, but bright August sunshine looks likely for most of Thursday and Friday. Throw in nearly ideal high temperatures in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees and you’ve got a recipe for some potentially hefty attendance numbers on the first 2 days.

High temperatures Thursday afternoon will hover in the 70s across most of Minnesota. And Friday’s high at the fairgrounds should approach 80 degrees. That should make for a beautiful Fair experience on both Thursday and Friday.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday.
NOAA

Weekend forecast: Partly steamy and stormy?

Highs will move back into the 80s this weekend. Saturday’s high should top out in the lower 80s. But Sunday will feel a bit more steamy. Highs should push well into the 80s by Sunday afternoon.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday.
NOAA

And dew points will climb from the comfy 50s Friday, back into the sticky 60s this weekend. NOAA’s GFS model shows the increasing dew points between Friday and Sunday.

NOAA GFS dew point forecast
NOAA GFS dew point forecast Friday into Sunday.
NOAA via tropical tidbits

A frontal system crossing Minnesota this weekend brings scattered rain and thunder chances. Rainfall coverage looks pretty spotty at this point. Most of the hours will be dry, but there could be a brief passing downpour. NOAA’s GFS model shows patchy thundershower coverage between 7 am Saturday and 1 am Sunday.

NOAA GFS model Saturday
NOAA GFS model between 7 am Saturday and 1 am Sunday.
NOAA via tropical tidbits

Programming Note: I’ll be live at the Fair next Tuesday, August 30 doing my weather broadcasts at the MPR News booth near the corner of Judson and Nelson between 3 and 6 pm. Come on by and say hello if you’re in the neighborhood.

abraham-huttner-miller-at-fair
John Abraham, Paul Huttner and Kerri Miller at the MPR Minnesota State Fair.
Huttner, Paul