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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Ron Trenda

Normal can be very nice

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We hit 70 degrees yesterday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. That is exactly our average high temperature for this time of year.

I saw plenty of smiling faces during my travels around town.

Our weather winning streak continues today!

High pressure nearby

A high-pressure system remains to our southeast today:

rt519allfronts

Most of us will have a dry Thursday, but scattered showers are possible this afternoon over western Minnesota.

Highs will be slightly warmer than yesterday, with 70s very common:

Highs in the lower 70s are expected again tomorrow in the Twin Cities, with mid 70s on Saturday and upper 70s on Sunday.

Air quality check

Some patchy areas of smoke from Canadian wildfires could drift over Minnesota today. Most of the smoke should remain aloft, so no major effect on our air quality is expected at ground level.

Our air quality is good this morning, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency:

rt519aq1
rt519aq2
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

The forecast from MPCA shows that our Twin Cities air quality may enter the lower end of the moderate category today.

You can check the latest air quality index here .

Drought status

The weekly update from U.S. Drought Monitor does not show drought conditions over any part of Minnesota:

rt519dr
U.S. Drought Monitor

Small sections of west-central and northwestern Minnesota are classified as abnormally dry, but those areas are not in drought.

Last year at this time, about 50 percent of Minnesota was experiencing moderate drought conditions.

Weekly drought updates are posted by U.S. Drought Monitor here .

Monday rain

Forecast models show a low pressure system approaching Minnesota by Monday morning:

rt519gfs
National Weather Service/Global Forecast System data

We could see showers and thunderstorms spread across Minnesota late Sunday night and Monday.

I hope that you enjoy your Thursday!