Watching heat, smoke potential in the next week
Wildfires drive massive smoke plumes; smoky, 104 degrees in Black Hills
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Minnesota is getting lucky this week when it comes to heat and wildfire smoke.
Temperatures topped 100 degrees with smoky skies in the western Dakotas. Numerous wildfires in the Canadian Rockies and the northwestern United States are belching out massive smoke plumes fanning out across much of Canada and the northern U.S.
So far, Minnesota is on the eastern edge of the main smoke shield, but high-level smoke could edge into the state over the next few days.
The smoke will stay mostly aloft through the weekend. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency air quality forecasts favor mostly good to moderate air quality at the surface this weekend.
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Heat builds
We could see our second 90-degree day of the year in the Twin Cities on Saturday.
The massive western heat dome shows signs of easing toward Minnesota next week. Highs for the next week are likely to hover around 90 degrees in much of Minnesota give or take a few degrees.
Southerly winds at the surface through Saturday will help keep surface smoke at bay over Minnesota. But we’ll have to watch next week to see if shifting winds pump in more smoke from just west of Minnesota.
Stay tuned.