Saturday sunshine; thunderstorm chance on Sunday
Minnesotans will enjoy plenty of sunshine this Saturday.
Temperatures will be agreeable, and humidity levels will be reasonable.
It'll be a great day for summer fun in the outdoors!
Saturday highs will be in the 80s across most of Minnesota, with some 70s in the northeast.
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The far northeastern tip of Minnesota could see a late day shower.
Sunday rain chance
Some periods of showers and thunderstorms are expected in Minnesota Sunday and Sunday night.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern:
The chart to the right of the loop shows the rainfall rate (mm per hour), not the total amount of rain.
A strong or severe thunderstorm is possible Sunday and Sunday night, and the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather in Minnesota for that period:
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Saturday afternoon update
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has updated the Sunday and Sunday night severe weather outlook to a slight risk of severe weather in parts of central and southern Minnesota:
The Twin Cities metro area is included in the slight risk for severe weather Sunday and Sunday night, which means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible.
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Temperature trend
On Sunday, much of southern and central Minnesota will see highs in the 80s, with some 70s north:
A few spots in the southwest could touch 90.
The Twin Cities metro area will probably see highs in the lower 80s Monday, mid 80s Tuesday and upper 80s Wednesday and Thursday.
July 1936 heat wave
Minnesota was in the middle of a heat wave at this time in 1936.
Starting on July 6, the Twin Cities metro area saw eight of nine days with high temps above 100 degrees:
Here are the Twin Cities official highs:
The hottest day was July 14, with a high of 108.
It was 96 degrees on the only day in that nine day period that the temp didn't top 100 in the Twin Cities.
This was before air-conditioning of course, and some people sought relief from the heat in their homes by sleeping outdoors.
As MPR news reported last year, on the 80th anniversary of the 1936 heat wave, it is estimated that more than 700 Minnesotans died from the extreme heat of July 1936.
Nationally, there were an estimated 5,000 deaths from the 1936 heat wave.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday