Wildfire smoke is expected to drift into the Northland on Saturday, but most of it will remain high in the atmosphere, causing hazy skies with minimal impact at ground level.
Below is the HRRR model forecast for vertically integrated smoke.
Saturday morning looks clear across the Northland, with the next plume of smoke still far to our west and southwest.
Things are expected to shift rapidly by Saturday afternoon, as wildfire smoke moves swiftly eastward, covering the entire Northland by mid to late afternoon.
On Sunday, the smoke could drift south, clearing the skies over northern Minnesota, though some haze might still hang around in northwest Wisconsin and farther west, including Duluth and the North Shore.
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…Rain chance Saturday night…
It looks like we might get a bit more rain Saturday night into early Sunday, mainly in northern Minnesota, with a few showers possibly reaching down into the Twin Ports and northwest Wisconsin.
Northern Minnesota could get between 0.05 and over 0.25 inches of rain Saturday night, with lighter amounts expected farther south.
…Friday showers…
Rainfall Reports for August 7, 2026
- Odanah, WI: 0.50″
- Ashland, WI: 0.41″
- Babbitt, MN: 0.37″
- Buyck, MN: 0.35″
- Walker, MN: 0.33″
- Clam Lake, WI: 0.27″
- Cass Lake, MN: 0.27″
- Meadowlands, MN: 0.25″
- Glidden, WI: 0.24″
- Northome, MN: 0.24″
- Ely, MN: 0.19″
- Solon Springs, WI: 0.15″
- Pine River, MN: 0.15″
- Winter, WI: 0.12″
- Hog Creek, MN: 0.11″
- Meander, MN: 0.11″
- Orr, MN: 0.11″
- Seagull Lake, MN: 0.09″
- Cook, MN: 0.08″
- Floodwood, MN: 0.08″
- McGregor, MN: 0.06″
- Saginaw, MN: 0.05″
- Grand Rapids, MN: 0.04″
- Aurora, MN: 0.04″
- Burnett, MN: 0.04″
- Bigfork, MN: 0.03″
- Poplar, WI: 0.03″
- Hibbing, MN: 0.02″
- Duluth Airport: 0.02″
- Moose Lake, MN: 0.02″
- Brainerd, MN: 0.02″
- Pleasant Valley, MN: 0.02″
- Hermantown, MN: 0.02″
- Eveleth, MN: 0.01″
- Hayward, WI: 0.01″
A few showers and thunderstorms swept through far northern Minnesota on Thursday evening, followed by another round that formed in western Minnesota between 3 and 6 AM Friday and moved east through much of the morning. After a short break, yet another cluster of storms developed in northern Wisconsin between 2 and 3 PM this afternoon. All this rain came from an eastward-moving cold front that passed through the region today.
24-hour radar loop from 6:16 PM Thursday to 6:09 PM Friday, August 6-7, 2026.

