A nice Sunday in most areas; Canadian wildfire smoke lingers in far northern Minn.

It was an enjoyable Saturday across most of Minnesota, but parts of far northern Minnesota had reduced air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

Sunday may be a replay of Saturday's conditions, with some additional spots in northern Minnesota seeing some smoke during the morning hours.

Air quality alert for the north

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert that will remain in effect until noon on Sunday for the northern third of Minnesota:

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MPCA updates on alerts and current air quality readings can be found here.

The Saturday air quality alert from the MPCA contained this info, with "tomorrow" referring to Sunday:

Saturday, July 6, 2019: AIR QUALITY ALERT is in effect for the northern 1/3 of Minnesota today through Noon Sunday. Wildfire smoke from fires in eastern Manitoba/western Ontario has moved rapidly south into the Upper Midwest with air quality monitors indicating higher levels of fine particles (PM 2.5) across the northern 1/3 of Minnesota. Yellow (moderate) air quality is commonplace with some locations reaching into the Orange (unhealthy for sensitive groups) and even Red (unhealthy for all) category especially over the northern locations from Red Lake Nation eastward to Ely and much of the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA). The smoke is slowly tracking southward and expected to approach Duluth/Fond du Lac area and points southward. Green (good) air quality conditions for much of central and southern Minnesota; however, the wildfire smoke will be monitored in its movement and forecasts will be adjusted accordingly in advance of the smoke. The Twin Cities will maintain Green AQI numbers for now but may see Yellow category conditions this afternoon/evening as some of the smoke drifts southward from the north. Winds slowly become southeasterly to southerly tonight and tomorrow helping to slowly disperse the dense wildfire smoke that is present over northern portions of the state. Improved air quality expected Monday-Wednesday as southerly winds keep wildfire smoke mostly north of the border.

An explanation of the various air quality categories can be found here.  For instance, the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category is described this way:

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" AQI is 101 to 150. Although general public is not likely to be affected at this AQI range, people with lung disease, older adults and children are at a greater risk from exposure to ozone, whereas persons with heart and lung disease, older adults and children are at greater risk from the presence of particles in the air.

You can also check the Grand Forks, ND  and Duluth NWS sites for updates on air quality alerts.

Temperature trends

Pleasant July temps were enjoyed by most areas on Saturday.

I think you'll enjoy our Sunday high temps too, with most areas reaching 80 degrees or the lower 80s:

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There'll be some 70s in the northeast.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the lower 80s Monday and Tuesday of the coming week, followed by around 80 on Wednesday. We’ll be back to lower 80s Thursday, with mid 80s on Friday.   Forecast models show that we'll have a shot at 90 degrees next weekend.

Rain and thunder chances

Much of Sunday will be dry. It looks like western Minnesota could see a few scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm late Sunday afternoon, with that chance spreading eastward Sunday evening.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Our best chance of some periods of showers and thunderstorms will be Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern from Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon:

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NOAA GFS precipitation rate (mm/hour) Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the precipitation rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain. It’ll rain in some areas that look dry in the GFS model, but the loop shows the general rain pattern. Check forecast updates.

Wettest year to date in Rochester 

Yes it has been a very wet year in Rochester, Minnesota:

Precipitation includes rainfall plus the water content of the snow.  For example, five inches of snow may contain approximately one-half inch of water.

I hope that you're enjoying this long Fourth of July holiday weekend!