Evening thunderstorm chance; Friday through Sunday mostly quiet, warm
July Fourth outlook: Warm with scattered storms
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It’s great to see that our Minnesota air quality is improving. Most of Minnesota had air quality readings in either the good or moderate category at 5 p.m. Thursday, and similar air quality is expected Thursday night and Friday.
Much of Wisconsin is in an air quality advisory that continues until noon on Friday. Northwestern Wisconsin is not included in the air quality advisory. Here are air quality advisory details, from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources:
WIZ016-023>028-301700- Rusk-St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 1212 PM CDT Thu Jun 29 2023 ...AIR QUALITY ADVISORY ISSUED FOR CENTRAL, SOUTHERN, AND EASTERN WISCONSIN UNTIL NOON FRIDAY... The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued an Air Quality Advisory for PM2.5 and Ozone which will remain in effect until 12:00 PM CDT Friday, June 30th. This advisory affects people living in the following counties: Adams, Brown, Buffalo, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette - North, Marinette - South, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto - North, Oconto - South, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood. Due to the continued presence of smoke originating from Canadian wildfires, the air quality index is expected to reach the UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS to UNHEALTHY level for both PM2.5 and Ozone. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and consider avoiding all physical outdoor activities; everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion and consider avoiding prolonged or heavy exertion. For more information on current air quality, please see: https://airquality.wi.gov
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency posts current and forecast air quality information here.
Thunderstorm chances
Scattered thunderstorms are possible into Thursday evening in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Many locations won’t see any rain, but some spots could see downpours at times.
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You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. You can find the latest radar here.
You can also check these National Weather Service sites for updated weather info: Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D., Grand Forks, N.D.
Organized thunderstorms aren’t expected Friday or Saturday, but an isolated shower or thunderstorm is possible in far southern Minnesota and in parts of northeastern Minnesota.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 6 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday:
Sunday looks mainly dry, but a shower or thunderstorm could move into western Minnesota late in the day.
Occasional scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in northern Minnesota on Monday, then we could see a few scattered showers and thunderstorms anywhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Fourth of July.
Check forecast updates.
Temperature trends
The average Twin Cities high temperature is 83 degrees on June 30. Metro area highs are forecast to reach the upper 80s this Friday.
Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Friday highs in the 80s:
There could be a few upper 70s in far northeastern Minnesota.
Saturday highs will be mainly in the 80s:
Sunday highs reach well into the 80s in most areas, with a few spots in the south topping 90 degrees:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 90s on Sunday and Monday and also on the Fourth of July.
Drought update
The rain that we saw last weekend hasn’t changed the drought picture very much, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report:
The report shows that 4.92 percent of Minnesota (shaded orange) is in severe drought, with 39.25 percent (shaded beige) in moderate drought. The yellow-shaded areas are abnormally dry but not yet in drought.
Only 7.68 percent of Minnesota isn’t either abnormally dry or in drought right now.
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.
