Rain is on its way to some of us

Our skies today have been a fast-moving mix of clouds, courtesy of a low pressure center in Nebraska, and wildfire smoke.

CODNEXLAB-1km-Minnesota-vis-ani24-201508271900-100-100-raw(2)
Wildfire smoke has been advancing east of Minnesota while shower and thunderstorm clouds build from the west. NOAA/College of DuPage

Some showers and thunderstorms developed over southwestern Minnesota during the heating of the day ahead of that low, but they have had difficulty advancing very far into our rather dry air. National Weather Service radar has been tracking them.

Showers and storms will become more numerous tonight as they track eastward mainly across the southern quarter of Minnesota. The Twin Cities are likely to be near the northern edge of the rain overnight and Friday morning, so any forecast amounts would be just a guess.

Severe weather is not expected. However, widespread rains of 1 to 2 inches are possible, even likely, across southern Minnesota by the time the rain ends from west to east on Friday.

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August 27 - Friday 1P fcst
Rain should end in southeastern Minnesota later on Friday. NWS Weather Prediction Center.

In addition, as shown on the forecast map, a few thunderstorms could break out near the Canadian border Friday afternoon.

Saturday and Sunday look like they will make a lovely late-August weekend as long as you don't mind a warming trend.

Meanwhile, elsewhere

Tropical Storms Erika, with maximum sustained winds of just around 45 miles per hour, is preparing to exit the Lesser Antilles.

August 27 - Erika sat pic
Tropical Storm Erika is exiting the Lesser Antilles and is likely to head for Puerto Rico Thursday night. NOAA

Erika is tracking a little farther south than was forecast. That puts the storm on a track to pass near St. Croix later today and then over Puerto Rico tonight.

Widespread rainfalls of 4 to 8 inches and some greater amounts are possible in Puerto Rico where, ironically, the island has been in severe to extreme drought this summer. A state of emergency was issued because of the drought and water rationing was initiated.

Erika will then cross over or near the Dominican Republic on Friday and head for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas on Saturday. All locations affected will get heavy rain.

Aug 27 - new Erika track
Forecast track for Tropical Storm Erika. Note that the white areas ("the cone") represent the probable paths of the storms center and do not indicate the size of the storm. national Hurricane Center

The potential impact on Florida is still a question mark as Erika is likely to turn more to the north as it approaches the Sunshine State.

However, the farther-south track that Erika is taking makes it appear more likely that Florida will get at least sideswiped. The bulge in the Florida peninsula in the West Palm Beach area might appear to be a likely target on Monday but there is significant uncertainty at that time range.

Western wildfires

While the devastating wildfires in Washington state and northern California have received considerable press coverage, there also have been many fires in Idaho and western Montana.

Three fires have been underway for quite some time in my favorite national park, Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Thanks to the widespread smoke, the views toward Many Glacier Hotel (left), Mt. Gould and Grinnell Point do not present the clear, sparkling views that visitors to these glorious mountains would expect.

August 27, 2015 - Many Glacier
Webcam looking across Swiftcurrent Lake on Thursday. National Park Service

This and several other webcams in the park can be accessed from this link.