Another Extreme Heat Warning for the Twin Cities

The National Weather Service is issuing an Extreme Heat Warning across the metro and southern Minnesota Saturday afternoon into Sunday evening. WCCO Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says expect big-time heat.

"National Weather Service already had an extreme heat watch in effect for both days," Shaffer said on the WCCO Morning News Friday. "That could be extended to Monday as well."

First up, a pretty nice Friday with a high of 84. But Shaffer says you'll start to notice a change.

"The wind, you'll notice that from the southwest, 10 to 15 throughout the day," he says. "And that's going to start pumping more humid air over us. It's also gonna bring the heat."

Highs will be in the 90s, with dew points in the sweltering 70s. That will send the heat index soaring into the triple digits for much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

"93 tomorrow, 94 Sunday, feeling closer to 100 both days because of that heat and humidity combination," Shaffer predicts. "Still warm on Monday and the air won't be necessarily a lot cooler next week. I think our highs will be in the low 90s. The relief will come that it won't be as humid, so that'll take the dangerous part out of the equation as far as what it feels like out there. It'll just feel hot, that's all."

The predicted heat index for late Sunday afternoon is above 105. Not just swampy and gross, but dangerous for outdoor activities. The last heat wave brought 10 straight days of 90+ degrees. This one will be close.

"This one, I'm going with eight. I think we might get to eight unless we get some clouds or some residual rain like I mentioned that pin us down a little bit," Shaffer adds. "Which would be great. I'd love to be wrong with that, but it looks like we could spend several days in the 90s again."

Both Hennepin and Ramsey County have cooling centers available for those that lack air conditioning. Shaffer says overnight lows will only drop to the mid-70s, and with the humidity that creates dangerous conditions. You can see a list of cooling centers here.

There's also a chance of severe storms both nights, and Minnesota needs the rain as drought continues to deepen in many parts of the state.

"We could see some rain bands coming through," Shaffer says. "Very scattered in nature. I think our best chance of any widespread rain is going to be Sunday night, actually, late evening into the overnight hours. We actually have a slight risk of some severe thunderstorms or some wind and hail possible with that."

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report shows that more than 86% of the state is at least abnormally dry. That's up almost 10% from the week prior.

Severe drought also worsened in northeastern Minnesota, where more than a dozen wildfires continue to rage. Parts of north central Minnesota are in the worst shape.

EXTREME HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON SATURDAY TO NOON SUNDAY
EXTREME HEAT WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING
* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values of 101 to 106 possible. Overnight lows in the 70s.
* WHERE...Portions of central, south central, southwest, and west central Minnesota.
* WHEN...For the Extreme Heat Warning, from noon Saturday to noon CDT Sunday. For the Extreme Heat Watch, from Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening.
* IMPACTS...Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events.

CHRIS SHAFFER’S FORECAST

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy. High: 84. SW 10-15 mph.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Low: 68. SW wind 8-10 mph.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and humid. High: 93. SW wind 5-10 mph.
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy and humid with thunderstorms possible late.
Average high and low - 84/66