Temps trend upward Sunday & Monday; Update on Sunday rain chance in northern MN

Our Saturday will feature pleasant temps and comfortable humidity levels.

Air quality is good all across Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency:

Minnesota air quality is forecast to stay in the good category today.

Weekend temperatures

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 84 degrees on July 8. I expect some spots in the Twin Cities metro area to reach 80 degrees later this afternoon. Much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the 70s, with some 60s in northeastern Minnesota.

Sunday highs will be in the 80s in most areas:

There will be some 70s in northeastern Minnesota.

Monday will be the warmest day of the week in the southern half of Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, with many spots reaching the upper 80s:

Cooler 70s and 60s are expected in northern Minnesota on Monday.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 80 degrees on Tuesday, followed by upper 70s Wednesday then lower 80s on Thursday and Friday.

Temperatures could be warmer than normal next weekend and into the start of the following week, according to the latest temperature outlook from the NWS Climate Prediction Center:

Rain chances

An isolated shower is possible Saturday afternoon in northeastern Minnesota and in northwestern Wisconsin. Far northwestern Minnesota could see an isolated Saturday evening shower.

Scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm will be possible in far northern Minnesota late Saturday night.

The northern third of Minnesota plus northwestern Wisconsin could see some scattered showers and thunderstorms Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from noon Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday:

Areas of showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop in central and southern Minnesota plus western Wisconsin on Monday, with a few strong storms possible Monday afternoon and evening.

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 and Grand Forks.

Drought update

This week’s report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that 56.73 percent of Minnesota is now in drought.

Specifically, 8.48 percent of Minnesota (shaded orange) is in severe drought, with 48.25 percent (shaded beige) in moderate drought:

The yellow-shaded areas — 41.29 percent of Minnesota — are abnormally dry, but not yet in drought; 98 percent of Minnesota is either abnormally dry or in drought.

It should be noted that the rainfall data cutoff for the map is 7 a.m. on the Fourth of July. The late-morning July Fourth downpours that dropped between one-half inch and 1 inch of rain in parts of Hennepin County and the eastern Twin Cities metro area are not included in the drought analysis.

And, of course, the rain that fell in parts of Minnesota on Friday is also not included in the drought analysis.

Much of Iowa and Wisconsin are also in drought, with large areas of severe drought in southern Wisconsin and across much of Iowa. There are smaller areas of extreme drought (shaded red) in Iowa and Wisconsin:

Weather nuggets

• The average Twin Cities high temperature peaks at 84 degrees, from July 8 through July 23.

• The average Twin Cities high temperature is coldest (23 degrees) from January 10 through January 24.

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.