Pleasant weekend coming
Friday has been the kind of day we have been longing for - not too hot and certainly not too humid. In the Twin Cities it has been the least-hot day since June 25 when the high was 77. The normal high for today is 83 so it was a fine day to be sub-normal.
Clouds will break up this evening as we close in on sunset shortly before 9 p.m. Then we will enjoy a lovely view of the waxing gibbous moon that will set around 1 a.m.
The weekend outlook is for mostly fine weather statewide with just a few showers and storms thrown in. Highs tomorrow should range from the mid 70s to the low 80s across Minnesota. I expect a few showers and thunderstorms to develop tomorrow morning in southwest Minnesota and gradually work their way eastward across the far southern counties.
Northern Minnesota could see a few scattered storms mainly Sunday afternoon.
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In between, the metro area might experience scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm or two Saturday evening and Saturday night.
Severe weather is not likely for the weekend.
Some humidity will return Sunday afternoon. But Monday is likely to bring back serious mugginess and high temperatures near 90.
The next chance for rain after the weekend will slide in on Monday with a better chance on Wednesday.
For National Weather Service has been busy upgrading their technology, as usual. This past week the Chanhassen office which serves the metro area and surrounding regions has been installing an upgrade to have dual-polarization radar. This updated Doppler radar will provide much more detail from storms, such as droplet size, precipitation type and rates and identification of non-meteorological targets such as smoke.
Summer is a fantastic time to enjoy our natural wonders, of course. Even if you can't get out of town, check out a park or two. The photo below is the floating boardwalk at Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, just south of Minneapolis. It curves across the water in the middle of the center and really gives you the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Just watch your step as the boardwalk has become a bit shifty.
Bill Endersen