Poor air quality, summertime heat continue midweek

Here’s your Wednesday afternoon forecast for June 21, 2023 from Minnesota’s Weather Authority and Meteorologist Matt Serwe.

An Air Quality Alert is in effect for most of Minnesota and Wisconsin Wednesday and Thursday. This includes the entire Twin Cities metro.

Expect another hot afternoon with lower humidity and poor air quality in the Twin Cities. Just like yesterday, once more cars get on the road during the evening rush hour, air quality could become unhealthy for everyone. There is one more day with a lot of ozone in the air Thursday, and then we will start to see some welcome changes heading into the weekend. Highs will stay in the low 90s for the next few days as the humidity creeps up day after day.

The best chances for thunderstorms stay in western and northern Minnesota Thursday and Friday. However, as a front sags closer to the Twin Cities late on Friday, a few storms could get into the metro by the evening. Severe weather in not likely here, but some could have downpours and lightning. Saturday remains the best chance for widespread storms and severe weather across Minnesota. Storms develop in southwest Minnesota in the afternoon, and those could have large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes. As those move toward the Twin Cities, gusty winds and heavy rain are possible late Saturday evening and overnight.

If you are planning on going to any of the major events in the Twin Cities this weekend (Pride, Taylor Swift, the auto show) make sure you have a plan for getting severe weather information. Also, be ready to flex your plans based on when the storms roll in, and how strong they are.