Thursday: Not As Warm, But Still Near 90F With Sunny Skies

Looking back at Tuesday, while we didn't hit 100F we did see a record high of 98F at the MSP Airport. The previous for the day was 97F back in both 1971 and 1898. This was the warmest August day since August 7th of 1988, when we also hit 98F.

Both Minneapolis and St. Cloud saw record highs on Tuesday. You can see the boundary of that heat dome that is set up across the upper Midwest, with 90s across central and southern Minnesota but only 60s across northern parts of the state.

The heat index was still at 100F at Midnight Tuesday Night/early Wednesday morning, and when you get very precise it set a new record for the midnight observation at 100.22F, narrowing beating 100.19F from 2011.

And the heat index at 1 AM Wednesday morning was 101.55F, setting a new record there as well. In all, we also saw record heat index values for the hours of 3 AM, 4 AM, and 5 AM.

The high hit 98F again on Wednesday, setting a record high for the day (previous being 97F in 1948). While the temperature dropped below 80F before the cutoff for climate data, therefore falling short of the all-time August record warm low, the low of 79F for the day did set a new record warm low for the day.

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If you want to be one of the first in the gates at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, it's going to be another warm (though not as hot) day as we start to see our temperatures trend downward a touch. As those gates open it'll be in the low 70s in the metro, climbing to a high in the upper 80s under mainly sunny skies.

Looking statewide Thursday, the cool spots will be along the North Shore and in the Arrowhead, where temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s. Most other locations will reach the 80s for highs, with some 90s in southern Minnesota. The state should see mainly sunny skies, but a few showers can't be ruled out early in the day across northern parts of the state.

Feels like temperatures remain hot across southern Minnesota on Friday, with peak values in the mid-90s for the metro but some areas of southern Minnesota could once again approach 100F. Due to this, heat alerts are still in place.

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Friday: It'll still be a warm day out there with highs in the mid-80s, but humidity should be on the decrease as we head through the day. Most of Friday will feature mainly sunny skies. However, a system passing through will bring the threat of a few afternoon and evening storms - mainly appearing to focus on northeastern Minnesota at the moment, but can't rule out at least a slight chance into the metro.

Saturday: A very pleasant Saturday is on tap as highs only reach the mid-70s with dewpoints in the 50s. Another mainly sunny day is expected.

Sunday: Much of the same as Saturday, with just slightly higher temperatures in place (around 80F for a high).

If we do get a few storms across eastern/southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin late Friday into Friday night, a few could be strong to severe. Hail and wind are the main threats.

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Heat and Humidity Slowly Eases Next 3 Days
By Paul Douglas

"Hi, I'd like a frozen Snickers Bar, a year's supply of Cheese Curd-Flavored Gelato and CPR-on-a-stick please." The worst of the heat is behind us now, and today will be a tiny step in the right direction.

We set some unusual records, including the hottest heat index observed since 1945 for 5 hours Tuesday night. At 1am yesterday the heat index in the Twin Cities was still a broiling 101.5F. Talk about an urban heat island. Ouch.

We had two days of dangerous heat. Much of the southern US from Florida to Arizona experienced 2 straight MONTHS of dangerous temperatures and heat indices. No thank you.

Expect low 90s at the fair today but every day gets a little more comfortable right into the weekend, when daytime highs hold near 80F with a comfortable dew point in the 50s. A little smoke may mix in with a northerly flow out of Canada, but pick your poison, right? A thunderstorm may flare up late Friday but no significant, widespread rain is in sight. The Drought of '23 limps on. Hoping for a soggy fall.

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Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

THURSDAY: Sunny, still sticky. Wake up 73. High 91. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY: Warm sunshine, late PM T-storm. Wake up 70. High 88. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind W 8-13 mph.

SATURDAY: Sunny, much more comfortable. Wake up 64. High 80. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NE 8-13 mph.

SUNDAY: Blue sky, very pleasant. Wake up 60. High 81. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind SE 5-10 mph.

MONDAY: Cooler, more clouds than sun. Wake up 58. High 78. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

TUESDAY: Plenty of sunshine. Wake up 59. High 79. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind NW 10-20 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny and warmer. Wake up 58. High 83. Chance of precipitation 0%. Wind S 5-10 mph.

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Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data
August 24th

*Length Of Day: 13 hours, 39 minutes, and 10 seconds
*Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 55 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 13 Hours Of Sunlight? September 7th (12 hours, 57 minutes, 11 seconds)
*When Are Sunrises After 6:30 AM? August 28th (6:30 AM)
*When Are Sunsets At/Before 8:00 PM? August 27th (7:59 PM)
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This Day in Weather History
August 24th

2006: Tornadoes and large hail strike southern Minnesota. One person died and 37 were injured when a strong tornado began 4 miles west-southwest of Nicollet in Nicollet County, and moved almost due east for 33 miles to near Waterville in Le Sueur County. Many storm chasers captured the tornado on video. The largest hail reported was grapefruit-sized at New Prague in Scott County.

1934: Early cool air invades southern Minnesota. Rochester and Fairmont have lows of 34 degrees.

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The heat bubble continues across the Central United States on Thursday, though we will start to see it shrink back a little from the Upper Midwest. Storms are possible on the western, northern, and eastern bounds of that heat bubble. We'll also be tracking some storms near the Gulf Coast, in southern Florida, and in the Pacific Northwest.

Some areas of the eastern Great Lakes could see 2-4" of rain from the middle to the end of the week.

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Midwest Braces for 115-Degree Heat, Renewing Crop Worries

More from Bloomberg: "A heat wave sweeping the Midwest is threatening to dry out grain crops in the final few weeks of the growing season, putting at risk a bumper US harvest that's key to keeping global food inflation in check. Temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 115 degrees in parts of the Midwest this week, renewing worries from earlier in the season when drought drove crop conditions to their worst since the late 1980s before they improved significantly with the return of rain. Now, excessive heat is jeopardizing what is expected to be the second largest US corn crop on record, at a time when the global market is looking to the US for supply certainty. The last few months saw military escalations in the Black Sea contribute to one of the most volatile periods in the history of grain trading."

Weather that drove eastern Canada's devastating wildfires made twice as likely by climate change

More from CNN: "The weather conditions that fueled record-shattering wildfires in eastern Canada earlier this summer – and sent plumes of hazardous air into the US – were made more likely and more intense by the climate crisis, according to a new report published Tuesday. Scientists from the World Weather Attribution initiative – which calculates the role of climate change in extreme weather events – found human-caused climate change more than doubled the likelihood of hot, dry and windy conditions that drove the Quebec fires between May and July, and made this fire-prone weather at least 20% more intense. The severity of Quebec's fire season up to the end of July was also made 50% more intense by climate change, according to the report."

Hurricane Hilary soaked an already wet California. Is the drought over?

More from Vox: "Less than a year ago, California was facing an epic drought. With reservoirs running dry and rivers shrinking, the state, and much of the broader American West, was facing steep, highly consequential water cuts. Some farmers let their fields lie fallow. Cities implemented water restrictions. And the threat of even deeper cuts loomed. Then came a winter of rain and snow that inundated central California. And then came Hurricane Hilary. The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary brought record quantities of rain to desert cities like Palm Springs earlier this week. Some regions got a year's worth of rain in a matter of hours. The Imperial Valley, the state's southern epicenter of farming — which was threatened by steep water restrictions as recently as last year — also received heavy rainfall from the storm."

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- D.J. Kayser