Smoky haze and hot days take hold
Statewide air-quality alert issued
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Minnesota remains under a statewide air quality alert as wildfire smoke from Canada continues to blanket the region. Meanwhile, summer-like temperatures are expected to persist through early next week, with highs in the 80s and 90s.
Air-quality alert
A statewide air-quality alert remains in effect for Minnesota through 6 p.m. Monday, as thick, hazy skies from Canadian wildfires continue to drift into the region in waves over the weekend.
While there may be brief periods of improved conditions, the overall air quality is expected to deteriorate — especially in northern Minnesota, where the air quality index (AQI) is forecast to reach the red category, meaning levels are unhealthy for everyone. The rest of the state will likely fall into the orange category, which is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Smoke will remain aloft this weekend, but there will be times where it becomes surface-based, leading to potential breathing problems. Here is a graphic showing the forecasted smoke concentrations throughout the atmosphere, also known as vertically integrated smoke. This highlights the total amount of smoke in the air column — from the surface to the upper levels.
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Check the latest air quality conditions, alerts and forecast here:
MPCA website Current air quality conditions
MPCA website: Air quality forecasts
Hot and dry weekend
A warm-up is on the way this weekend, with temperatures climbing into the 80s on Saturday and even warmer conditions expected Sunday and Monday, when highs could reach into the 90s. The Twin Cities may be flirting with breaking high-temperature records on both Sunday and Monday as the heat intensifies.
The smoky skies across the region may act like a layer of cloud cover at times, potentially keeping temperatures a few degrees cooler than they otherwise would be. Nevertheless, it will still be much warmer than average, with highs rising well above the typical mid-70s.
Low temperatures Friday night will dip into the mid to upper 50s, with the Twin Cities metro around 61 degrees. Winds will be light, coming from the northwest at 5 to 10 mph.
Our next chance for widespread rain arrives around Tuesday and could bring a meaningful amount of precipitation. Current forecasts suggest the potential for over an inch or two of rainfall across much of the state.
These soaking rains would be a great start to meteorological summer!
