It's likely to be a busy weather day in the Twin Cities and parts of Minnesota on Wednesday. And it's coming as Minneapolis kicks off the Minneapolis Aquatennial, possibly disrupting one of the city's biggest events.
But first? It's heat, humidity, and another sweatbox out there says WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer.
"I mean, the heat and humidity is going to be there. There's no doubt," Shaffer said on the WCCO Morning News. "That's been the one constant. We have a shot of hitting 90 today, those dew points, it's going to be up around 76 today, so it will feel around 100 degrees and that will hold right around Aquatennial Torchlight Parade time."
The heat and humidity have led the National Weather Service to put another Heat Advisor in place for the Twin Cities and the southeast corner of Minnesota. That begins at noon and runs until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday.
But the bigger concern are storms. Already Wednesday morning, there is pounding rain across northern Minnesota. Will we see that in the metro later? Shaffer says it's iffy.
"So, most of that energy stays up north, but the front is going to sag down to the south and right around late afternoon into the evening, there's a slight risk for severe weather even here in the Twin Cities," says Shaffer. "It's not gonna be a massive line coming through. It's very disjointed. There'll be gaps. So, we could get through it completely dry. But if you get caught in one of those cells, it could pour briefly, there could be some strong damaging winds."
And that makes it very difficult for those in Minneapolis Wednesday evening planning - and participating in - the Aquatennial Torchlight Parade. It's supposed to begin around 7:30 p.m. in downtown Minneapolis down Nicollet Mall from 12th Street to 4th Street.
"So I'll definitely keep a close eye on that for you because there's gonna be a lot of people coming downtown," notes Shaffer.
That risk of thunderstorms could make conditions dangerous if there are people lining up for the parade. But Adam Duininck with the Minneapolis Downtown Council says they are preparing a contingency plan.
"We always monitor the weather every year, so I'd encourage people to follow us on our Instagram or social media accounts to get the latest up to date information," Duininck begins. "If the parade is canceled, we will definitely send out a news release. We also have to have kind of, you know, plan B and C and and fallback plans for either starting at a different time or whatever contingencies we have put in place for the event."
Temperatures are also expected to be extreme with the heat index hovering around the upper-90s. So, if the parade still occurs make sure to stay hydrated.
Duininck adds that it's relatively rare for the Aquatennial Torchlight to be affected by bad weather.
"This week in July is the week with the least amount of precipitation just on record, in terms of kind of the historical trends," Duininck adds. "And so we we usually do luck out on both the fireworks and the parade. But just looks like there's a chance for systems and storms to be moving in and out of the Twin Cities."
The parade features over 100 floats, displays and bands march through the heart of downtown Minneapolis, along with the 40+ candidates vying to become the next Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes and Aquatennial Princesses.
The good news is temps drop slightly Thursday with a high of 84 and not quite as humid. We do stay dry through the weekend as well, which is good news for the rest of Aquatennial and the fireworks show Saturday along with the PGA Tour's 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.
HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM
* WHAT...Heat index values up to 101 expected.
* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, and southeast Minnesota and west central Wisconsin.
* WHEN...From noon to 8 PM Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.