
A cool night ahead as clouds continue to decrease across the Northland late this afternoon. The combination of mostly clear skies and light winds later tonight should result in temps falling into the 40s and 50s in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin early Thursday morning, and it’s even possible that a few of the typical cold spots dip into the 30s by dawn! There is also a chance for some fog across the Northland late tonight into early Thursday morning, especially in low lying areas, any fog should burn off by mid morning Thursday.
Note: Normal lows in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin in late July range from the lower to upper 50s, so yes a little cool tonight but nothing really out of the ordinary for our area in late July, we can get some cool nights around here during the summer.
Took a while, but clouds have been decreasing from NE-SW across the Northland this afternoon, and this trend should continue into the evening.
Goes-16 visible satellite loop from Wednesday, July 22, 2020 – Loop time 9:06 AM to 2:06 PM CDT.
Source: https://weather.cod.edu/

Another pleasant summer day ahead on Thursday with mild temps and low humidity. Highs on Thursday will mainly be in the 70s but it will be a little cooler again near Lake Superior.
Humidity ramps up Friday as dew points climb into the 60s to lower 70s by Friday afternoon, and it looks like this humid weather will stick around Saturday and most of Sunday too with dew points in the mid 60s to mid 70s across the Northland, it will feel tropical this weekend!
There is more uncertainty in the temperature forecast this weekend, this is due to possible cloud cover and scattered thunderstorms Friday and Saturday which would limit how warm we get, highs would likely be in the 70s and 80s if clouds and storms linger, but if we see less thunderstorm activity and more sunshine, then highs will likely climb into the mid 80s to low 90s in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin Friday and Saturday.
The potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms exists for Friday and Saturday as we should have quite a bit of CAPE (instability) across the area along with some stronger winds aloft and a decent low level jet and some wind shear, but a layer of warm air aloft or a cap could make it difficult for thunderstorms to develop.
One round of scattered showers and thunderstorms could move through portions of north-central and northeast Minnesota on Friday, this activity would be with a warm front which lifts NE into the upper Midwest.
18z NAM 3km model simulated radar forecast valid Friday from 7 AM to 7 PM.
Source: https://weathermodels.com/

July 2020 has been a warm and wet month across the Northland with average monthly temperatures some 2 to 5 degrees warmer than normal, while precipitation totals so far for the month are running anywhere from a quarter inch to over 3 inches above normal.
Note: The cooler temperatures the last few days have knocked Duluth out of its warmest July on record with July 2020 now the 4th warmest July on record as of the 21st, but this will likely change a few more times over the next week.
July 2020 Climate Stats (thru the 21st) Brainerd Minnesota Average Temperature: 74.4 degrees Departure: +4.7 degrees above normal Total Precipitation: 6.23″ Departure: +3.48″ above normal Duluth, Minnesota Average Temperature: 71.0 degrees Departure: +5.5 degrees above normal Total Precipitation: 5.19″ Departure: +2.44″ above normal Ashland, Wisconsin Average Temperature: 70.3 degrees Departure: +4.0 degrees above normal Total Precipitation: 5.18″ Departure: +2.53″ above normal International Falls, Minnesota Average Temperature: 67.8 degrees Departure: +2.7 degrees above normal Total Precipitation: 3.21″ Departure: +0.52″ above normal Hibbing, Minnesota Average Temperature: 66.7 degrees Departure: +2.6 degrees above normal Total Precipitation: 3.60″ Departure: +0.38″ above normal |
Thanks for reading!
Tim