Smoky skies stay over Minnesota through midweek

Here’s your Tuesday evening forecast for May 16, 2023 from KSTP Meteorologist Matt Serwe.

The thick smoke stays in the sky this evening and overnight. This has not caused any issued with air quality around the Twin Cities, but it is slightly lower in parts of central and northern Minnesota. Most of the smoke is pushing farther west, so you will notice a very orange or potentially red sunset across the state. This will be over us for the next couple of days. You can expect another very hazy sky on Wednesday. Most of eastern and central Minnesota will stay in the low to mid 70s for highs, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s and low 80s out west.

A cold front will clear the smoke on Thursday, but we trade a hazy sky for rain and a few thunderstorms. On Friday, north winds will keep temperatures in the 50s for most of the day! The shot of cooler air is short-lived, and we have a wonderful weekend forecast. Mostly sunny Saturday and Sunday with highs in the low 70s.

If you live along the Minnesota River from Mankato to the Twin Cities, pay close attention to the river rising this week. This is from the heavy rain that fell in the basin last week. There are already a few road closures in parts of Carver County, and more could follow in Scott County later this week.