Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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Air quality conditions are improving in much of northern Minnesota as of late Saturday morning.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket most of central and southern Minnesota, with air quality conditions in either the orange (unhealthy for sensitive groups) or red (unhealthy for all groups) categories as of 10 a.m. Saturday. 

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended the air quality alert until noon on Sunday for the entire Twin Cities metro area.  Nicollett County, southeastern Minnesota and the Minnesota counties south of the Minnesota River are also in the air quality alert until noon on Sunday:

The air quality alert expires at 3 p.m. this Saturday elsewhere in Minnesota.

Here’s the MPCA discussion of the portion of the air quality alert that includes the metro area and south-central Minnesota:

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency updates 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued an air quality advisory for all of Wisconsin that continues until noon on Sunday. Here are the details:

A few very scattered showers and an isolated t-storm could develop later Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening in the northern third of Minnesota and in western Wisconsin. There appears to be just an isolated shower/thunderstorm chance elsewhere in Minnesota later this afternoon and this evening.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News 

You can also check these National Weather Service sites for updated weather info: 

Highs will be in the 70s today across roughly the northern third of Minnesota and in northwestern Wisconsin, with mainly 80s elsewhere. Much of the Twin Cities metro area will reach the lower 80s.

The northern half of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin could see a few scattered showers and thunderstorms Sunday afternoon and evening. An isolated shower or thunderstorm is possible elsewhere in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. 

Sunday highs will range from 60s in the northern third of Minnesota to around 80 degrees in the Twin Cities and southeastern Minnesota:

Monday highs will be mainly in the 70s, with 60s in parts of northeastern Minnesota:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 70s on Monday, followed by lower 80s Tuesday then mid 80s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

The best chance of rain in the metro area appears to be Tuesday night and Wednesday.

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.

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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

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Minnesota Wildfires

Ron Trenda

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires will linger into Sunday morning in some areas. We have updated air quality alert info, plus a look at Sunday and the week ahead.

Air quality alert extends into Sunday AM for Twin Cities metro and southern Minnesota

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