Take a look at the image from the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska from Saturday. Widespread wildfire smoke from Canada had enveloped much of the High Plains and Midwest with reduced visibilities and poor air qualities.

Saturday was a very smoky day across the region with reduced visibilities and poor air quality for much of the state. Thankfully, things will be improving on Sunday as the heaviest concentrations of smoke will drift south of Minnesota. Skies may still be a little hazy, but no where near what they were like on Saturday.

The simulated radar from AM Sunday to Midday Monday a swirl of showers and storms drifting across parts of northeastern Minnesota on Sunday and possibly lingering into Monday. However, other than that, much of the region will remain dry.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook doesn't appear to show a ton of widespread rainfall. Through next week, there could be a few tenths of an inch here and there. The heaviest rains will be found farther north, where up to 0.50" maybe possible closer to the international border.

It has been an extremely dry stretch of weather across much of the station over the last several weeks. Only a few locations have seen decent pockets of rain, but the drought is expanding. Severe drought conditions have expanded from nearly 8.5% last week to nearly 11% this week, which encompasses parts of the east Metro. Moderate drought increased from 57% last week to 64% this week. We need rain!

The map below shows the 60 day precipitation anomaly, which indicates that some locations are nearly -3.00" to nearly -7.00" below average (in red) since mid May. Spots in Southwest Minnesota still have a bit of a surplus, but much of the region is well below average precipitation.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Sunday, July 15th will be quiet and dry with temperatures warming to near 80F by the afternoon. Skies may still be a little hazy, but no where near the amount of haze that we had on Sunday.

The hourly temps through the day Sunday shows temps starting in the mid 60s in the morning and topping out in the upper 70s in the afternoon. Skies will be dry and mostly sunny with not as much haze in the air as what we had on Saturday. West to northwesterly winds will be breezy with gusts approaching 20mph to 30mph through the day.

Temps across the region on Sunday will warm into the 70s with a few 60s sprinkled in across the northern part of the state. These temps -5F to -15F below average for the middle part of July. The worst of the smoky haze will drift south and west of the region with a few isolated t-showers possible in the northern half of Minnesota and Wisconsin during the afternoon.

The 5 day temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows highs warming into the 70s and low/mid 80s over the next few days. It'll be a little cooler than average through the early part of the week, but slightly hotter conditions develop on Wednesday as we warm into the mid/upper 80s.

Dewpoints will be a bit lower as we head through the next few days. Monday could see readings down to around 50F, which will feel very comfortable for mid summer.

The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities will be fairly quiet through early next week with temps running a little cooler than average as well. Isolated showers and storms develop midweek with temps warming back into the mid/upper 80s, which will be slightly above average.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis will be a little cooler as we slide through the next few days. Readings get a little warm as we approach the 2nd half of next week and beyond. The end of July could be a little hotter with more 90s in the forecast.

Weather conditions across parts of the Central US will be unsettled at times with chances of showers and thunderstorms drifting through. There could be a few isolated severe storms with locally heavy rainfall, but the most unsettled weather appears to be developing along and east of the Mississippi River Valley. The Western US will remain mostly hot and dry as the heat dome continues.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows warmer-than-average temperatures across much of the nation and especially across the southern tier of the nation.

The extended precipitation outlook keeps things a little drier across parts of the Western US. Meanwhile, it could be a little more active in the Eastern US.

Now we know what a goldfish must feel like, peering up through a filthy aquarium. Yesterday the smoky air hovering above Twin Cities was the 4th most polluted of any major city on the planet. 26 days of Air Quality Alerts across the state of Minnesota so far in 2023, smashing the old record (21 days in 2021). At the rate we're going we may see 30-40 days of alerts from unrelenting Canadian wildfires. Yeah, this is getting old.

But at least we're not experiencing biblical floods or face-melting heat. Pick your poison. I'm worried about hurricane season. I saw a water temperature of 98F in the Florida Everglades. I've never seen that before.

Today will be gusty and cool with 70s and a few showers north and east of MSP. The next opportunity for a few lonely T-storms will come Wednesday, but you'll be shocked to hear that this is not a wet pattern we're in. We are defaulting to drought, and odds favor it will get worse.

Long range models hint at more 90s by the end of July, so enjoy all this free A/C!

SUNDAY: Windy, stray shower. Winds: NW 15-25. High: 76.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and breezy. Winds: NW 15-25. Low: 58.

MONDAY: Sunny peeks, comfortably cool. Winds: NW 10-20. High: 75.

TUESDAY: Sunny and warmer. Winds: S 7-12. Wake-up: 62. High 83.

WEDNESDAY: Few showers and T-storms. Winds: SW 10-15. Wake-up: 64. High: 86.

THURSDAY: Breezy, a few scrappy clouds. Winds: NW 15-25. Wake-up. 66. High 82.

FRIDAY: Warm sunshine, less wind. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 67. High 86.

SATURDAY: Sunny and lake-worthy. Winds: NW 7-12. Wake-up: 68. High: 87.

July 16th

2006: A heat burst occurs over west central and central Minnesota. The temperature at Canby jumped from 91 degrees to 100 degrees in 40 minutes from 10:35pm to 11:15pm. At the same time the dew point temperature dropped from 63 to 32 degrees. Heat bursts are caused by dying thunderstorms with very warm air aloft.

1963: A downpour falls at St. Charles, where half a foot of rain accumulates in one day.

July 16th

Average High: 84F (Record: 102F set in 1926)

Average Low: 66F (Record: 51F set in 1911 & 1958)

Record Rainfall: 1.28" set in 1908

Record Snowfall: NONE

July 15th

Sunrise: 5:42m

Sunset: 8:56pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 14 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 1 Minute & 39 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 22 minutes

0.5 Days Before New Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Sunday will be extremely hot across the Southern and Western US, where a number of record highs will be possible. Some locations in the Southwestern US could be reaching all-time record highs including Death Valley, CA. The forecast on Sunday for Death Valley is 129F. The all-time record high is 134F.

The weather outlook on Sunday will feature isolated thunderstorms across parts of the Central US with more widespread storms possible along and east of the Mississippi River Valley.

The weather outlook through Monday shows scattered showers and storms possible along and east of the Mississippi River Valley. Some of the heaviest rains will ride up into the Northeast, where a few isolated strong to severe storms will be possible.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier precipitation across parts of the Central and Eastern US. Some of the heaviest rains could once again fall across parts of the Northeastern US, where recent flooding occurred. Meanwhile, the Western US will remain hot and mostly dry with the exception of the Desert Southwestern, where monsoon storms will be possible.

"The winter's deadly and devastating floods are a distant memory for many Californians. Now, summer dangers, fueled by climate change, are top of mind. Across the U.S., wildfires have grown larger and more frequent since 2000. But California fires can quickly escalate to megafires or gigifires (fires that cover more than a million acres) in part because they have become more unpredictable, writes CalMatters' environmental reporter Julie Cart. There are several reasons for this: The West recently experienced the driest period in more than a millennium. About a third of coastal summer fog, which prevents big fires from scorching California's coastal redwood forests, has vanished. And rising temperatures keep flames burning overnight, crucial hours when firefighters typically toil to get ahead of fires. Julie reports that Cal Fire crews attempt to outmaneuver these erratic blazes with fire behaviorists, who use information from satellites, military flights, drones, radar and AI models to try and predict future fire movements. Any data point can be crucial — from wind force and direction to the shape and height of slopes — to manage conflagrations."

See more from CAL Matters HERE:

"Coastal waters around Florida have reached alarming temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) with no sign of cooling off anytime soon, experts say. The Sunshine State is in the midst of its hottest year in modern history, with temperatures over land averaging in the mid 90s F (35 C) — 3 to 5 F (1.7 to 2.8 C) above normal for this time of year. Ocean waters have absorbed much of this heat, causing sea temperatures to soar to record highs, which could spell trouble for marine ecosystems and strengthen storms and hurricanes. "It's an astounding, prolonged heat wave even for a place that's no stranger to sultry weather," Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami's School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, told the Washington Post. "It's not something we like to see near land simply because it would allow a storm to maintain a high intensity right up to landfall or rapidly intensify as it approaches landfall."

See more from Live Science HERE:

"For those puzzling over the various hurricane computer forecast models to figure out which one to believe, the best answer is: Don't believe any of them. Put your trust in the National Hurricane Center, or NHC, forecast. It's always been the case that a particular forecast model may outperform the official NHC forecast in some situations. However, the 2022 NHC Forecast Verification Report reiterates a longstanding truth: overall, it is very difficult for any one model to consistently beat the NHC forecasts for track and for intensity. During the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, NHC track forecasts had accuracies notably better than the five-year average. New records for track accuracy were set at time frames of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 4, and 5 days. Over the past 30 years, one- to three-day track forecast errors have been reduced by about 75%; over the past 20 years, four-day and five-day track forecast errors by 50 – 60%. Those numbers amount to an extraordinary accomplishment, one undoubtedly leading to huge savings in lives, damage, and emotional angst. The improvement in track forecast accuracy has slowed down in recent years, however, suggesting that forecasts may be nearing their limit in accuracy because of the chaotic nature of the atmosphere."

See more from From Yale Climate Connections HERE: