Warmth lingers through Monday; Sunday night meteor shower details
The air quality alert for Minnesota expires at noon this Sunday, but there'll still be some patchy areas of Canadian wildfire smoke this afternoon.
It'll be a warm afternoon, with highs in the upper 80s to the low 90s across much of Minnesota. It'll be a bit cooler near Lake Superior.
Some spots in far northwestern Minnesota could reach the mid 90s.
Most areas will also have sticky dew point temps.
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It'll feel very summery.
Temperature trends
Most of Minnesota will have a warm Monday, with somewhat cooler high temps creeping into the northwest:
I wouldn't be surprised to see a few spots in the Twin Cities metro area reach the lower 90s late Monday afternoon.
Metro area high temps are expected to be in the mid 80s Tuesday, around 80 on Wednesday and in the lower 80s Thursday. We'll be back to the mid 80s on Friday.
Our average high this time of year is 81 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.
It's been dry
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's map of rainfall totals over the past 7 days shows one-tenth of an inch or less in the Twin Cities metro area and much of northern and central Minnesota:
Some Minnesotans could see a shower/isolated thunderstorm on Tuesday.
NOAA's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Tuesday and Tuesday evening:
I'm hoping that more of us see some rain for our thirsty lawns, gardens and farm fields.
Minnesotans will have another chance of rain next Saturday.
Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and updates are also posted on the MPR News live weather blog.
Perseid meteor shower
We’ll have an opportunity to see the Perseid meteor shower this Sunday night.
Sky & Telescope describes this annual interaction between the Earth’s atmosphere and the path of the comet Swift-Tuttle:
When Earth crosses Swift-Tuttle’s orbit, bits of dust and rocks left behind by the comet hit the planet’s atmosphere, creating the light show we know as the Perseid meteor shower.
This is the prime weekend to view the Perseid meteor shower:
The shower’s predicted peak falls on the evening of August 12th, soon after new Moon (9:58 UT August 11th). Weather and light pollution (and possibly mosquitoes) should be the only impediments to a good show. The best viewing will certainly be early on the mornings of August 12th and 13th, but don’t wait for the predicted peak to go outside.
You’ll want to look to the northeast:
Patchy Canadian wildfire smoke could obscure the view in some areas, but there won't be any moonlight to contend with.
The best viewing will be away from city lights.
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.