July-like days ahead with little to no rain

Get ready for more summerlike warmth Friday into next week. Just isolated showers or a thunderstorm are possible late Friday with a weak front. 

Summer temperatures return Friday into next week 

We’re warming back into the 80s across central and southern Minnesota Friday afternoon after a cool start once again in eastern Minnesota. Most of us will see sunshine most of the day.

A weak cool front is diving south through the day creating a few clouds and just isolated shower and thunder chances into late Friday evening.

Another thing blowing in with this weak cool front will be some Canadian wildfire smoke. It will affect northwestern Minnesota Friday morning, central Minnesota in the afternoon and the Twin Cities area in the evening as the front dives south.

Air quality is forecast to be moderate for most of the state.

On Saturday, you won’t notice much of a temperature difference as highs will only cool a few degrees from Friday afternoon’s readings.

On Sunday, things will really heat up with temperatures for much of western Minnesota near 90 degrees; 125-year-old records could fall in some spots Sunday. The record high Sunday in the Twin Cities is 88 set in 1900 and the record for St. Cloud is 90 degrees, also set in 1900.

The anomalous warmth continues into next week with highs remaining in the 70s and 80s, although we could start to see a shift in the pattern late next week.

A large upper-level trough will move in from the west, kicking the upper-level ridge of warmth east by mid to late next week.

That will allow both moisture and disturbances to move through the region once again, increasing the chance of some rainfall. Wednesday night into Thursday and Thursday night brings the next real chance of widespread rain and thunder.

Fingers crossed. By late next week, most of the state will be desperately in need of moisture after several hot, dry, sunny days.