A beautiful Tuesday; cooler on Wednesday with a chance of rain and thunder
Another nice summer day is on tap for Tuesday.
Most of Minnesota will have sunshine and scattered afternoon clouds, with highs in the 80s:
Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area could hit 85 or 86 degrees.
Temperature trends
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A cold front will slide across Minnesota as we go through Wednesday.
Wednesday highs will range from the 60s in far northern Minnesota to 80s in the southeast:
Twin Cities metro area highs are should be in the upper 70s on Thursday, followed by middle 80s Friday and mid to upper 80s next weekend.
Our average Twin Cities high temp this time of year is 83 degrees.
The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center temperature outlook for Aug. 7 through Aug. 13 shows that warmer than normal temps are likely statewide:
Rain chances
There’s a chance of showers and thunderstorms in far northern Minnesota late Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening. That chance expands into central Minnesota Tuesday night. Most of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area, will have a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon:
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.
A closer look at Mars
Mars hasn't been this close since 2003.
You can check out live coverage on NASA TV early Tuesday:
NASA has many details about this event; skyandtelescope has information for those who will be trying to view Mars on Tuesday. Just scroll down to their "planet roundup".