Scattered showers and thunderstorms; mostly pleasant this weekend
I have a hunch that some people are taking today and next Monday off, giving themselves a five day weekend.
Why not?
You have to embrace summer in Minnesota.
Rain chances
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Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in Minnesota this afternoon and evening. The best chance of rain would tend to be from about mid-afternoon into this Friday evening.
Parts of Minnesota could also see some periods of showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon into early Sunday, with the best chance of rain in the northeast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern:
It'll probably rain in some areas that look dry on the loop, but the simulated radar shows the general rain pattern.
By the way, the color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain.
Looking ahead, the Canadian forecast model is now showing some shower and thunderstorm possibilities for Minnesota on the Fourth of July.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System model is also showing some rain possibilities, but mainly over northern and central Minnesota.
Temps looking up
Highs will be mainly in the 70s this Friday afternoon, with some 60s in northern Minnesota.
Similar highs are expected on Saturday:
On Sunday we see lots of 70s, with some spots touching 80 in the south:
Looking ahead, many spots will see 80s on the Fourth of July:
The Twin Cities metro area could hit the mid 80s Wednesday, and upper 80s next Thursday and Friday.
Warm June
Despite some very cold days in the second half of June, the month will end up being warmer than normal in the Twin Cities.
Through Thursday, the official temp this month at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was running 2.7 degrees above normal:
Those five days in the 90s earlier this month were a big part of the warm monthly temp!
Drought update
The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that most of Minnesota is free of drought:
Part of northwestern Minnesota (the light orange shaded area on the map) is experiencing moderate drought.
The yellow shaded area indicates locations that are abnormally dry, but not in drought.
Looking at the entire U.S., you will notice that Florida is no longer in drought:
Extreme drought conditions cover parts of eastern Montana and western North Dakota.
Let's hope that they get some rain!