Beautiful now, not quite as hot this weekend?

Last night's spotty thundershowers were a welcome break for some in our run of sunny, warm dry weather.

Our June weather bliss continues through Friday. Farmers can finish up field work then sit back and watch the corn grow. City dwellers loiter at a sunny outdoor patios under a warm summer sky.

There are some changes to the weekend forecast that may take the edge off what previously looked like an intense heat wave. A southbound cool front may stall over the Twin Cities Saturday night. That may be the trigger for some locally heavy T-Storms that could take the edge off the heat Saturday night and Sunday.

We need the rain.

How warm this weekend?

Saturday still looks like the hottest day we have seen so far this year. It may also end up as the hottest day of 2017, though it's way too early to be confident about that.

The latest model runs are picking up on a weak frontal boundary sagging south Saturday night. Models are adjusting Sunday downward. Sunday's 90+ degree temp below may now be too high for the Twin Cities if T-Storms set up overhead.

Heavy T-Storms?

Sunday is looking potentially stormy now. A stalled front dividing steamy air south and cooler air north looks to be the focus of some potentially heavy, training thunderstorms Sunday. We'll have to see precisely where the front sets up, but the potential for locally heavy rainfall is creeping into the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin forecast picture for Sunday.

NOAA's NAM model paints two narrow rain bands. One in northern Minnesota. The second lay out across the Twin Cities by Sunday. Any small shift north or south will change who gets dumped on, and who stays dry.

The Canadian GEM model picks up on the trend of shoving the core of 90+ degree heat south Sunday. The Twin Cities could end up between the steamy air mass in southern Minnesota, and much cooler air to the north.

Stay tuned for what looks like a changeable weekend forecast as we work out the details.

Climate Cast: A talk with Will Steger

I had the pleasure of chatting with famed Arctic explorer Will Steger for Climate Cast today. Most people know Will Steger as an Arctic Explorer. But he’s also an author, educator, photographer, lecturer, and most recently, climate change activist.

It’s sobering to hear that many of the expeditions Will has taken are literally no longer possible.  The Larsen Ice Shelves Will crossed have completely collapsed and disappeared. And we can no longer reach the North Pole on ice by dogsled, you need a boat these days. It’s a stark example of just how fast climate change is happening in the Arctic climates.

Believe it or not Will told me today he always wanted to be a meteorologist and climatologist. His work has made him something quite unique and necessary, what I would call a "climate explorer." Will is as gracious in the studio as he is tenacious in exploring our planet. And he's a fan of MPR's Climate Cast.

You can hear my conversation with Will and live stream Climate Cast today at 3:20 pm and 6:20 pm on MPR News.

Climate stories

One of the admitted unknown unknowns about climate change is just how quickly ice loss will happen. Is Greenland the next place to surprise us?

Ocean wild card

Again, the oceans and heat are a climate change wild card. Warmer oceans can stealthily melt floating ice in places like Antarctica from underneath.

States taking action

Technological solutions?

Markets: We're not going back to coal

So, we're going to shut down Netflix and reopen Blockbuster? That's how many market analysts I talk with see the notion of increasing coal production again. Natural gas has been the primary driver of the demise of coal. That's not likely to change.