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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Sven Sundgaard
Updated:

Continued warmth with sunshine Thursday and Friday

A few showers are possible Friday night into the weekend

thu t anom
Forecast temperature anomalies (depature from normal) Thursday
WeatherBELL Analytics

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It’s more of the same with sunshine and above-normal temperatures in the coming days. Some spotty showers will be possible Saturday, otherwise it’s mostly warm and dry into next week. 

Above-normal temps continue; spotty weekend showers

It’ll be another very warm day Thursday with highs well into the 80s for much of the state except for the North Shore, which will be a bit cooler in the 70s. These readings will be 10 to15 degrees above normal.

thu hi
Forecast highs Thursday
National Weather Service

An air quality alert expires for northwestern Minnesota late Thursday morning. Conditions should improve as southeast winds push wildfire smoke back north. 

Check the latest air quality conditions, alerts and forecasts here:

Friday will be another sunny day with highs mostly in the 80s. 

fri hi
Forecast highs Friday
National Weather Service

A system originating from the Pacific and the remnants of Tropical Storm Francine will work to squeeze the upper-level high pressure ridge over central North America, keeping it largely in place, meaning we’ll have continued above-normal temperatures into next week.

sat
Satellite imagery and upper level pattern analysis early Thursday
College of DuPage weather lab

The otherwise unimpressive system from the west will get a boost of moisture moving north from the remnants of Francine. You can see the moisture content moving north while the system from the west also moves into Minnesota Saturday:

thu-sun water
Forecast precipitable water (atmospheric water content) 7 a.m. Thursday through 7 a.m. Sunday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

There will be at least some spotty showers and a couple thunderstorms Friday night into Saturday for portions of the region.

fri-sat prec 8a
Forecast simulated radar 7 a.m. Friday through 7 a.m. Saturday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Other than the spotty rain-thunder chances Saturday, the weekend will continue to be warm.

fcst
Forecast through the weekend for the Twin Cities area
National Weather Service

Believe it or not, about half of Minnesota could actually use a little moisture now.

While the late spring and summer was very wet, the pattern has definitely dried out in recent weeks. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report for Minnesota shows 48 percent of the state now abnormally dry. This is up from 12 percent just a week ago.

drought 09-12
Latest drought conditions
National Drought Mitigation Center

There are some signs that we may finally see some cooler weather by next weekend, but the forecast models do not do well with these unique blocking patterns.