Smoke, heat return to Minnesota; chance of needed rain Friday

Temperatures continue to trend upward with highs in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees for many midweek. Smoke returns to the skies. A good chance of rain develops Friday and Saturday.

Above-normal temps; smoke returns

Tuesday will be well above normal in the mid to upper 80s across much of central and southern Minnesota.

While temperatures increase, dew points will remain relatively pretty dry in the 40s only creating relative humidity values in the 15 to 30-percent range Tuesday afternoon.

Combine the dry air with breezy conditions and conditions in northeastern Minnesota will be near critical fire danger levels.

Wednesday and Thursday will see highs near 90 for much of southern Minnesota. Temperatures will be about 10 degrees or more above normal for much of the state, although a breeze off of Lake Superior will drop temperatures along the North Shore.

Canadian wildfire smoke returns, drifting into northern Minnesota late Tuesday and pretty much statewide by Wednesday.

There’s still a question as to how much smoke makes it to the surface to affect air quality.

Check the latest air quality conditions and forecasts here:

Needed rain possible Friday into the weekend

A mid and upper-level trough will move into the region, riding the upper-level ridge of heat in the central United States, giving us a hopeful chance of scattered showers and a few thunderstorms starting Friday into the weekend.

At this early stage the areas most favored for more significant precipitation include southern and southwestern Minnesota.

This is supported by several model forecasts as well but could change as we get closer. Already the timing of this system has slowed some so a lot can change still.

We’ll also be a bit cooler, in the low to mid-80s this weekend with the increased cloud cover but temperatures look to heat back up next week.