Hot, dry weather and wildfire smoke are elevating ground-level ozone across most of Minnesota today.

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Temperatures remain slightly cooler for Thursday, with seasonal temperatures for Friday. We will see our dew points increasing with warm air moving in for the weekend and highs returning to the 90s. 

And we’re off! The gates have opened at the Minnesota State Fair, the crowds have gathered and the weather is behaving. It was a glorious start with temperatures around 60 degrees and winds out of the south around 10-15 mph. 

There is a noticeable increase in our cloud cover as showers and thunderstorms continue for western and central Minnesota. This shower activity will gradually decrease as it heads east, but showers possible into early Thursday afternoon for the metro area.

The next chance for widespread precipitation comes closer to midnight into the overnight and early Friday morning. Here are Thursday’s forecast conditions for the fairgrounds:

Friday’s forecast calls for seasonal temperatures around 80 degrees. Dew points will start out comfortable and then slowly crawl into the low 60s by Friday evening. There will be a bit more cloud cover to start the day but sunshine and dew points will increase through the day. 

Here are Friday’s forecast conditions at the fair:

The forecast is still on track for 90s to return to the Upper Midwest this weekend. Look for highs in the lower to mid-80s on Saturday, and warmer upper 80s to low 90s for Sunday.

Dew points will increase to the uncomfortable to slightly oppressive category. Dew points in the 70s on Sunday, combined with the temperatures will push our heat index values into the upper 90s to low 100s. 

If you plan on heading out to the fair this weekend, remember to drink plenty of water, wear light colored clothing, take breaks in the shade and take it easy. 

Join Paul, Sven and me on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 3:30pm at the 

MPR booth near the corner of Judson Avenue and Nelson Street

Mandy Thalhuber

Author

Temperatures remain slightly cooler for Thursday, with seasonal temperatures for Friday. We will see our dew points increasing with warm air moving in for the weekend and highs returning to the 90s. 


Beautiful start to the State Fair; warmup on the way

Go Deeper.

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