Lots of hazy sun through wildfire smoke and much warmer Friday into the weekend

After a dreary, showery few days, we’re in for lots of sun Friday into Monday. We’ll also see temperatures that will be 10 to 15 degrees above normal. 

A July-like weekend on the way 

The heat is on. Abundant, hazy sunshine (through Canadian wildfire smoke) and warmer air will make it feel more like a July weekend than the last days of May. Highs will be in the upper 70s to the low 80s for most of the state Friday afternoon. Dry, warm and windy conditions will lead to near-critical fire weather conditions for northeast Minnesota Friday afternoon.

We also will have wildfire smoke to contend with occasionally across the state. What you see in the skies Friday is not cloud cover but smoke. There are numerous large wildfires burning throughout Canada and anytime the winds are blowing the right way, we’ll see it in at least our skies if not in our surface air too.

Air quality alerts are in effect for portions of northern Minnesota today and Saturday. Make sure to monitor air quality as it will change by the day and hour through Monday.

Check the latest air quality conditions, alerts and forecasts here:

The weekend will bring more warmth with temperatures averaging 10 to 15 degrees above normal with highs into the 80s both days for most. Monday will see peak readings top out near 90 degrees or warmer for some.

Another pattern shift is ahead early next week which will allow more humid air to move in. The chance of storms increases late Monday into Tuesday followed by cooler air midweek.

We’ll need to monitor the chance of severe storms Monday in western Minnesota. As of Friday morning, it looks like the severe threat will be lower for eastern Minnesota Monday night and Tuesday as the rains move east.

It’ll then be cooler behind the system for Wednesday and Thursday with highs mostly in the upper 60s to upper 70s.