Gradual warming trend this week. Warmer in late July?

We’re finally giving the Doppler radars a rest across Minnesota.

The wettest April-May-June on record dumped a statewide average of more than 15 inches of rain across our state. Some towns picked up as much as 20 inches, and the deluge continued for many of us through the first half of July.

A swath of southern Minnesota and parts of northern Minnesota picked up more than 10 inches of rainfall in just the past 30 days:

Now we finally get to enjoy a stretch of mostly dry days across Minnesota.

Sunny to partly cloudy skies will be the rule across Minnesota this week. Highs are in the comfortable 70s across most of Minnesota. Temperatures will be a couple of degrees warmer each day this week. Thursday brings highs in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees:

By the weekend, highs in the 80s will be common:

Comfortable dew points

Dew points remain quite comfortable for July as we move through this week.

Dew points in the sticky 60s and tropical 70s are gone. Dew points in the comfortable 40s and 50s are here.

Dew points across Minnesota will climb gradually back into the 60s this weekend across much of Minnesota. The map below shows the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model dew point output through Sunday.

Warmer days ahead?

We’ve only managed to record one day of 90 degrees in the Twin Cities this year. That was last Sunday when we barely kissed 90. The Twin Cities annual average is 13 days of 90 degrees. Last year we sweated through 33 days!

Temperatures look seasonable through early next week. There are some signs that the western heat dome may spill east toward Minnesota in about 10 days.

Is a late summer run of 90s in our future in late July and August?

Stay tuned.