Smoky skies persist, rainfall returns next week

Weather knows no borders.

Case in point?

Millions of acres of prime boreal forest goes up in smoke in Canada's Northwest territories 1,500 miles northwest Minnesota. Minnesota skies are cloaked in a thick blanket of white from the advancing smoke plume this week.

We blame Canada for our winter chill, now we can look north for the source of the advancing smoke plume overhead.

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NOAA

In the crazy weather year of 2014, it figures we would have a smoke plume overhead during the most blissfully boring stretch of weather in nearly a year.

Winter polar vortex. Record spring rainfall and flooding. July mayfly and smoke plume invasions.

What's next, cue the locusts?

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Our northerly flow continues as mostly dry and warm high pressure wedges in overhead through the weekend.

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NOAA

We're back into the rainfall business next week.

Models from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts are still cranking out significant rainfall over the next 16 days, starting by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

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Weatherspark

In the meantime, we enjoy a nice summery weekend.