Wildfire smoke thickens; severe storms possible Wednesday
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Canadian wildfire smoke thickened as it crossed from smoky Wisconsin into eastern Minnesota on Tuesday.
Colors on the air quality map have become orange (unhealthy for sensitive groups) to red (unhealthy for everyone) in western Wisconsin and easternmost Minnesota this Tuesday afternoon.
How long this smoke hangs around is dependent on not only the low level winds, but also any surges in the vast wildfires in Canada’s Ontario and Quebec provinces.
As of Tuesday, an air quality alert has been posted until midnight Thursday for southern, eastern and northeastern Minnesota. The alert goes until noon Thursday in west-central and northwestern Wisconsin.
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Scattered thunderstorms
A ripple in the atmosphere and the heating of the day have popped scattered thunderstorms in northern Minnesota and a few isolated storms in central parts. They will track eastward into Tuesday night.
The main weather maker for this week will come our way from the west beginning Tuesday night. Showers and thunderstorms will spread from the Dakotas eastward across Minnesota during the night.
Rain could reach the Twin Cities area around midnight or a bit later unless the showers collapse by that time.
Severe weather possible later Wednesday
Stronger storms are likely to develop during Wednesday afternoon and continue into the evening.
A slight risk (level 2 of 5) of severe weather has been posted for an area centered along the Mississippi River from the Twin Cities to Winona and La Crosse, Wis., for late Wednesday afternoon and evening.
The primary risk hazards will be large hail and damaging winds. The slight risk area is surrounded by a lesser marginal risk (level 1 of 5) of severe weather.
Temperatures Wednesday will be about normal for late June with highs in the 70s across the north and 80s in the south, but cooler near Lake Superior. Dew points will climb especially Wednesday afternoon.
Quiet rest of the week
Look for temperatures from Thursday through the weekend to be generally a few degrees warmer than normal. The Twin Cities could touch 90 by Sunday and Monday.
A few showers might linger into Thursday, but the rest of the week and through the weekend looks dry except for the usual stray storms that can pop up this time of year.
The seven-day rainfall forecast through next Tuesday shows some decent rains for northern parts of Minnesota but very little for the southern half of the state. The forecast map shows most areas of useful rainfall likely to pass by well to our south.
