Twin Cities air quality alert Friday; heat builds back next week

An air quality alert is posted Friday for the Twin Cities region, indicating unhealthy air for older adults, people with lung disease and other sensitive groups.

We’re tracking a few isolated rounds of rain later Friday into early Saturday, then again later next Wednesday. Drought conditions, though, could slightly expand into next week.

Hot Friday

Most Minnesotans are watching bluebird skies on Friday but some high clouds are rolling in. It’s another hot day, although not as hot as initially forecast. Highs are largely in the lower 80s.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has posted a code orange air quality alert for the Twin Cities region indicating unhealthy air for older adults and people with lung disease. The alert runs Friday from noon until 9 p.m. and could be extended into the weekend.

There could be a speckle of rain in far western Minnesota. Later into the evening, we will have some sprinkles from Fergus Falls over to Rochester.

Clouds arrive Saturday. We’re looking at a few showers and an isolated rumble of thunder toward Worthington and the Interstate 90 corridor.

An omega block weather pattern takes over from Sunday to next Wednesday. On a national level, this resembles the Greek letter omega. That means there is a big mid-level low-pressure center over the southwestern United States and a similar low over the Mid-Atlantic.

Right over Wisconsin is an area of strong high pressure — the big blue H you’ll see on a weather map. All the big weather goes between those competing systems, leaving much of Minnesota high and dry.

That could also bring another air quality alert, likely on Sunday.

The forecast is really a carbon copy of what we’ve had late this week going into early next week. We do bring back some thunderstorm chances arriving in from Canada later next Wednesday into Thursday.

From there, temperatures climb back toward 90 degrees into the following weekend.