Rain didn't solve Minnesota's drought; hot weekend ahead
Isolated thunderstorms will pop up late Thursday afternoon
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West winds will continue to improve the air quality statewide through the day. Isolated thunderstorms are possible late Thursday afternoon. Temperatures heat up this weekend.
Drought stubbornly hangs on for many areas
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows drought mostly unchanged in Minnesota. Areas of moderate drought actually increased slightly from 34 percent to 39 percent of Minnesota.
Severe drought remains unchanged at 5 percent covering portions of central Minnesota and areas around Duluth and the North Shore; 92 percent of Minnesota is, at a minimum, abnormally dry.
All of this is despite significant rains for some last weekend and this week. It’s very difficult to pull ahead this time of year because of the strong sunshine and the hotter than normal temperatures we’ve been experiencing.
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The maps below show 30-day rainfall anomalies (difference from normal) for the past 30 days and for the 30-day period a week prior:
We made some big dents in those deficits but continue to have a longer term deficit from the spring.
This time of year, which is our wettest time of year normally, should see about 1 inch of rainfall per week. In order to erase our deficits we’d need to see double the normal rainfall for at least five weeks, which is essentially impossible looking at the long term forecasts.
Wind shift starts to push smoke out of state
A shift in the winds has slowly been improving the air quality and will continue to do so Thursday. Expect improvement from the northwest to the southeast through the day as light west winds push in cleaner air.
The air quality forecast calls for good air quality by afternoon north and moderate air quality south.
Many areas are still seeing unhealthy pockets of air Thursday morning, however. You can check the current air quality conditions here:
Isolated storms Thursday; weekend warmup
Lingering moisture and instability will lead to isolated pop-up thunderstorms will be possible later in the afternoon and evening Thursday especially in northeast and southeast Minnesota.
High temperatures Thursday afternoon will be warmer than the last couple days in the upper 80s south to upper 70s north.
We’re heading into a largely hot and dry pattern after Thursday through the weekend and early next week.
Temperatures will be near 90 or warmer for southern Minnesota Saturday through Tuesday with 80s north. The next best chance of some thunderstorms will come late on Tuesday.
