Smokin’ hot: Smoke ribbon aloft, feels like 100 Sunday

Smokin' hot.

That's our weather forecast in a nutshell. Air quality has improved since Monday's smokestorm pushed Air Quality Index (AQI) readings to an unhealthy 187 in the Twin Cities. But as a record fire season in Alaska and western Canada continues to belch out vast plumes of smoke, the downstream effects are still reaching Minnesota.

Check out this unusual smoke ribbon draped across Minnesota Thursday afternoon.

This mostly elevated smoke plume will linger into Friday over parts of the Upper Midwest. Look for vivid sunsets and sunrises as long as it hovers in the area.

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NASA

Record Alaska fire season

Listeners to MPR News' Climate Cast Thursday heard the latest on the record Alaska fire season which has now burned more than 3 million acres of forest. A growing body of science is looking at the links between accelerated warming in the Arctic and a well documented increase in boreal wildfires.

Over 300 active fires are burning across Alaska.

Here's more on Alaska's unprecedented fire season from newsminer.com in Fairbanks.

FAIRBANKS—Near-record temperatures earlier this week brought Alaska's fire season back into full swing. Officials expected the uptick in fire activity, which followed a cool stretch with some rain that allowed crews to hold or make progress on some fires.

More than 3.1 million acres have burned in Alaska as of Tuesday, and thick smoke pushed the air quality index to "hazardous" in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. If the trend continues, Alaska will likely set a new record for total acres burned in a summer, passing the 6.6 million mark in 2004.

The Tanana zone continues to be one of the most dynamic and unknown situations in Alaska. Winds reached 40 mph throughout Tuesday morning, resulting in big fire growth and the merger of Tozitna and Spicer Creek fires. Officials can't estimate the fire's size because of extreme smoke in the area.

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Weekend hot front gurgles north

You'll notice the heat and humidity rising Friday. By the weekend, a potent warm front rides north into Minnesota. The front triggers scattered thunderstorms with some locally heavy downpours Saturday. I don't see a repeat of Monday's extreme 2 to 7 inches of rainfall with this front, but some of the storms could produce locally heavy downpours Saturday.

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NOAA

The warm sector arrives in southern Minnesota Sunday and Monday. Temperatures should push 90+ from the metro south and west. Throw in dew points near 70 degrees, and you push heat index values to the 100-degree mark across a good chunk of southern Minnesota.

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The Global Forecast System (which often performs well with summer heat waves) cranks out 92 to 94 degrees for the metro Sunday and Monday. If we get enough sun, it could get that hot.

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NOAA

Stay classy and cool Minnesota.