Spotty showers, thunder Friday with lingering chances into the weekend

The next few days won’t be a washout but there will be spotty showers and thunder Friday and Saturday mostly. Next week looks drier and warmer overall. 

Spotty thunder chances into the weekend 

We had some soaking rains for the Fourth of July holiday. Many areas saw over 1 inch of rainfall but some places saw over 3 inches.

McGrath, just east of Mille Lacs Lake, saw 4.35 inches of rain. Hinckley, between Duluth and the Twin Cities, saw 3.03 inches. Willmar, west of Minneapolis, saw 3.02 inches. In southeastern Minnesota, Rochester picked up 2.37 inches.

The official rain total at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was just 66 one-hundredths of an inch.

We should be done with the persistent and steady rainfall. There will be spotty, pop-up showers and a couple of thunderstorms, especially again later Friday afternoon.

We’ll also see a mix of clouds and sun with highs in the mid to upper 70s across the state Friday afternoon.

Saturday and Sunday will be decent overall, but there will be lingering spotty thunderstorm chances with the best chances Saturday afternoon. Sunday is the best chance for storms in northern Minnesota. In between, look for partly cloudy skies.

High temperatures both days will be mostly in the mid-70s to near 80 degrees across the state.

Next week overall looks drier and warmer as a result. The best chance of some lingering spotty shower and thunder chances is Monday.

We may be finally turning the corner on the very wet pattern we’ve been in since mid-May. Forecast total rainfall for the next seven days is under 1 inch, statewide.

In the Twin Cities, we haven’t had a calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) with less than 1 inch of rainfall since mid-May. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center is also forecasting below normal rainfall in the six to 10-day outlook:

With a drier pattern, temperatures too, will warm into the upper 80s to even near 90 by late next week.