Lovely Wednesday as advertised; muggy again by Friday

Weather satellite views are always fascinating. One shot of the continental U.S. this morning is in the visible range in the East where the sun was up but still showing the bright city lights and the West is a multispectral product for the dark hours. In the middle is a major storm over Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa that is producing strong thunderstorms.

The cold front that plowed across Minnesota on Tuesday, triggering showers and storms as it went, is now well off to our east. Behind it is a very pleasant high pressure system with much drier air.

Wednesday will be a very comfortable day across Minnesota. Seasonal high temperatures will be in the upper 70s to mid 80s. Very pleasant dew points will be just in the 40s and 50s.

There will be abundant sunshine for most of us, occasionally through a thin veil of high clouds. A few isolated afternoon showers might break out in the southeastern corner and the far north.

The Twin Cities should see a high in the low 80s with dew points in the 50s and a light southwest breeze.

Pleasant again on Thursday

Thursday will be a bit warmer but still not very muggy. Most high temperatures will be in the 80s. Isolated thunderstorms are likely to break out in the northwest half of the state.

Return to heat and humidity later in the week

Heat and humidity will build again on Friday and stay with us through the weekend. Saturday is likely to be the hottest day with highs into the 90s across the southern half of the state to be paired with dew points in the low to mid 70s.

Thunderstorms in the outlook

Strong thunderstorms from North Dakota are likely to roll across northern Minnesota Friday night. Severe storms are possible but confidence is low this far in advance.