Smoky haze, dry weather continues Monday

Here’s your Sunday evening forecast for August 18, 2024 from Minnesota’s Weather Authority and Meteorologist Matt Serwe.

A smoky haze from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Air quality has turned poor in parts of the Twin Cities, and along the North Shore around Duluth. If you have chronic heart or lung issues, you should limit time outside Sunday evening. The air quality should improve over eastern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin tonight into early Monday. However, there could be more poor air quality in those areas Monday afternoon.

Dry weather from high pressure dominates the forecast through the first half of this week. There might be a few showers and storms Tuesday night into Wednesday, but they would be fighting through some very stable air. A bigger surge of warmth and moisture moves into the region late Thursday. I would expect scattered showers and storms during the first evening of the Minnesota State Fair, and those should linger into Friday morning. When the rain ends, it becomes hot and humid for the first weekend of the fair. Expect highs around 90° Saturday and Sunday.