Sunshine and 80s today; Monday rain and thunder
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
We hit 80 degrees at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Saturday. Our Sunday high will be one notch higher, in the lower 80s:
Many spots in Minnesota will top out in the lower 80s today, but it will be several degrees cooler along the north shore of Lake Superior due to winds off the lake.
Red Flag Warning
Southerly winds will increase this afternoon as a high pressure system moves away.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
The National Weather Service has posted a red flag warning from noon to 7pm today for much of north-central and northeastern Minnesota:
Here are the red flag warning details:
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
527 AM CDT SUN MAY 22 2016
...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHEAST MINNESOTA
TODAY...
.THE WARM AND DRY WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHEAST
MINNESOTA TODAY...WITH TEMPERATURES CLIMBING TO TO UPPER 70S AND
LOW 80S. GUSTY SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP BY THIS AFTERNOON. THE
COMBINATION OF DRY VEGETATION...LOW HUMIDITY...AND GUSTY WINDS
WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS MUCH OF
NORTHEAST MINNESOTA NEAR AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 2 THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH EARLY EVENING.
MNZ010>012-018-019-025-026-035-037-221830-
/O.CON.KDLH.FW.W.0007.160522T1700Z-160523T0000Z/
KOOCHICHING-NORTH ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-
NORTH ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-NORTH CASS-SOUTH ITASCA-
NORTHERN AITKIN-CARLTON/SOUTH ST. LOUIS-
527 AM CDT SUN MAY 22 2016
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT
THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND VERY DRY CONDITIONS FOR NORTHEAST
MINNESOTA...
* AFFECTED AREA...IN MINNESOTA...FIRE WEATHER ZONES 010...011...
012...018...019...025...026...035 AND 037.
* WINDS...SOUTH 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...20 TO 25 PERCENT.
* TEMPERATURES...UPPER 70S TO LOW 80S.
* IMPACTS...ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY.
OUTDOOR BURNING IS DISCOURAGED.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW....OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN
Foss Lake Wildfire
Firefighting efforts will continue today on the wildfire near Foss Lake in the Superior National Forest. The fire originated on Thursday about 10 miles west of Ely, Minnesota:
The wildfire is burning in part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), and the Crab Lake entry point to the BWCAW has been closed.
The U.S. Forest Service posted this wildfire update Saturday evening:
Because the update was posted Saturday evening, "tomorrow" refers to Sunday.
Foss Lake Wildfire Update
Basic Information
Current as of5/22/2016 12:01:28 PMIncident TypeWildfireCauseHumanDate of OriginThursday May 19th, 2016 approx. 11:00 PMLocationNear Foss Lake; ~10 miles SW Ely, MinnesotaIncident CommanderBrian PisarekIncident DescriptionEscaped Prescribed Burn
Current Situation
Total Personnel180Size1,008 AcresPercent of Perimeter Contained30%Estimated Containment DateWednesday June 01st, 2016 approx. 12:00 AMFuels InvolvedTimber (Grass and Understory)
Outlook
Planned ActionsSecure, anchor, and continue to secure flanks, using aircraft to cool ahead of crews.Projected Incident ActivityWhen wind speed increasing, fire activity is also likely to increase with the potential to make a run to the east northeast.
Current Weather
'>
Updates on the wildfire can be found here.
Rain on Monday
A low pressure system moves toward us tonight and Monday, spreading showers and thunderstorms across Minnesota:
Western Minnesota could see some showers and thunderstorms tonight. All of Minnesota will see some periods of showers and thunderstorms on Monday and Monday night.
A few of the thunderstorms could be severe. The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a slight risk of severe weather Monday and Monday night for most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
The best chance of severe weather in the Twin Cities would tend to be later Monday afternoon and Monday evening, but be alert to forecast updates.
Rain at times through the coming week
Our weather will remain unsettled throughout the coming week, with at least a chance of showers and thunderstorms each day. We could see widespread showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Much of Minnesota could use the rain. In the Twin Cities, we haven't seen any rain since May 13th. Today is our ninth consecutive dry day!
I hope that you enjoy this pleasant Sunday!