NEXT Weather: Less humid Friday, but plenty of 90-degree days ahead
MINNEAPOLIS – Air quality has improved across Minnesota and heat will be building in the next several days.
The Twin Cities hit 90 degrees Thursday, making it the 11th time it's happened this year. Friday is expected to make it 12, according to WCCO meteorologist Riley O'Connor. And the string is expected to continue.
Temps will rise into the low 90s Sunday through Tuesday. Dew points will remain low, and it looks like we will head into another dry stretch.
It looks like the heat will peak on Monday, with a high near 95 - possibly making it the hottest day of the year so far.
Scattered thunderstorms are possible Monday afternoon in the areas north and west of the Twin Cities.
Rain is possible for the Fourth of July, with scattered thunderstorms in the metro in the late afternoon to evening.
Air quality
AQIs levels across the state are now in the moderate range. While the air quality is still not great, it was a lot worse earlier in the week.
On Tuesday in the early afternoon, the World Air Quality Index reported Chicago had the worst air quality among all cities tracked worldwide. For a while Tuesday morning, Minneapolis sat just behind Chicago as the second-worst globally.
On Friday morning, New York, Chicago and Detroit were all three listed among the top 10 worst cities for current air quality, with Minneapolis sitting outside of the top 20. (It's worth noting also that no American city currently ranks among the top 50 most historically polluted cities tracked by the agency.)
RELATED: What is the Air Quality Index, the tool used to tell just how bad your city's air is?
According to the MPCA, Minnesota has officially reached the highest number of air quality alerts in a year. The previous record was 21 in 2021.
A Canadian agency added at least 27 new wildland fires to their list Monday. There are more than 18 million acres affected this year.