Forecast loop from 7 AM Sunday to 1 AM Monday

A couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be possible on Sunday across the state. The first round will be mainly a dying batch of rain moving east through the morning and midday hours which could restrengthen a touch over northeastern Minnesota during the mid/late afternoon hours. As that batch tries to restrengthen, another batch of storms looks to form back to the west as an area of low-pressure moves across northern Minnesota, dragging a frontal boundary across the state with it. A few of these storms could end up being severe late in the day into the evening hours.

Due to the threat that a few of those late day/evening storms could be strong to severe, a Slight Risk of severe weather (threat level 1 of 5) is in place across the metro with a Marginal Risk across a good portion of the rest of Minnesota. Large hail and damaging winds will be the greatest risk from any of the strong storms. However, an isolated tornado can't be ruled out.

So while we watch those two storm chances on Sunday, much of the rest of the day will feature a mix of sun and clouds to mainly sunny skies. Morning lows will be warmer than they've been recently - only falling back into the upper 60s - before climbing to the upper 80s around 90F for a high during the afternoon.

Above-average highs are expected across the state on Sunday, ranging from the 70s along the North Shore to the 90s in parts of southern Minnesota. Once again we will watch some rain chances, otherwise a mix of sun and clouds can be expected.

We'll get a one-day reprieve from the heat on Monday behind that system as that drags in highs that'll "only" be in the mid-80s. However, once we get past Monday, it looks like a heat wave will return to the region as we see a stretch of four days with a 90F+ high in the metro. There could be a few rain chances late Tuesday into Wednesday here in the metro, but confidence in timing out these rain chances is currently low.

The hottest day of the next several currently appears to be Wednesday, when highs could soar into the mid (and even upper) 90s across portions of southern Minnesota. Again, we could watch some storm chances (and associated cloud cover) which could interfere with these temperatures - but any confidence in this won't increase until we get a little closer.

As July comes to an end on Sunday, looking back through most of the month (values above through Friday) it has been a warm and dry one in the Twin Cities. Through Friday it has been the 25th warmest and 17th driest in the record book. We'll have to see how this changes with above-average highs here on Saturday and Sunday as well as the storm chance on Sunday.

Next Week Will Rival June For Severe Heat By Paul Douglas

I don't want to bury the lede: next week may be the hottest week of a very hot summer in Minnesota, a summer shaping up to be nearly as hot as 2021, which was the hottest on record for the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota.

I see a streak of 90s and a few days with daytime highs near 100F. Hot enough to get your attention. Hot enough to strain the electrical grid. Hot enough to accelerate evaporation of water from our soils and lakes, amping up the drought. I hope I'm wrong about that, but this seems to be the direction we are going. Who would have predicted this back in April?

The mercury approaches 90F later today with a few strong T-storms sprouting by the dinner hour. Any rain the next 2 weeks will be the exception, not the rule.

NOAA is predicting a warm bias into October, and studying the models I can't disagree. In all probability Minnesota's most precious resource (water) will be strained in the months to come. I wish I had better news.

You wanted a real (stinking hot) summer? It's here.

Paul's Extended Twin Cities Forecast

SUNDAY: Sticky sun, strong T-storm. Wake up 69. High 90. Chance of precipitation 50%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

MONDAY: Sunny with slight relief. Wake up 69. High 86. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind NW 8-13 mph.

TUESDAY: Sunny with a hot breeze. Wake up 71. High 96. Chance of precipitation 10%. Wind S 15-25 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Tropical with a few T-storms. Wake up 74. High 93. Chance of precipitation 40%. Wind NW 7-12 mph.

THURSDAY: Sunny and toasty. Wake up 69. High 90. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind SE 10-20 mph.

FRIDAY: Free sauna. Hot sunshine. Wake up 73. High 98. Chance of precipitation 20%. Wind S 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY: Steamy with a late T-storm. Wake up 81. High 96. Chance of precipitation 30%. Wind SW 8-13 mph.

Minneapolis Weather Almanac And Sun Data July 31st

*Length Of Day: 14 hours, 43 minutes, and 10 seconds *Daylight LOST Since Yesterday: 2 minutes and 21 seconds

*When Do We Drop Below 14 Hours Of Daylight?: August 17 (13 hours, 58 minutes, 36 seconds) *When Does The Sun Start Rising At/After 6 AM?: August 3rd (6:00 AM) *When Does The Sun Start Setting At/Before 8:30 PM?: August 8th (8:29 PM)

This Day in Weather History July 31st

1961: Very heavy rain falls at Albert Lea, where 6.7 inches is recorded in 24 hours.

On Sunday we will watch three different areas of precipitation across the lower 48. The first will be with the stationary boundary in place from the central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic. A second will be with an area of low pressure and frontal boundaries in place in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes. The third will be in the southwest due to monsoonal showers and storms. Meanwhile, excessive heat continues across portions of the Northwest where numerous record highs will be possible.

More heavy rain will continue to fall across portions of the central/southern Mississippi Valley into the Tennessee Valley over the next few days, with the potential of at least 3-5" of rain for some locations. This could lead to flash flooding.

Minnesota initiative aims to lower energy burden in manufactured homes

More from Energy News Network: "Manufactured homes are among the few affordable housing options for many low-income Minnesotans, but they can be notoriously drafty and expensive to heat and cool, placing significant energy burdens on many residents. A public-private partnership is reporting progress with initiative to lower that burden by connecting manufactured home communities with local utility programs and weatherization contractors paid by federal dollars. The Clean Energy Resource Teams has a goal of reducing the energy burden of all Minnesotans to less than 5% of their income. For the past four years, it's made a special effort to target manufactured home communities, where around half of residents earn less than $35,000 per year."

What it will take for EV battery swapping to go mainstream in the US

More from Protocol: "Electric vehicle infrastructure has traditionally focused on plug-in chargers. But swapping out batteries near death for fresh ones is an alternative approach to keeping EVs on the go. The practice has found a toehold in China, but so far failed to break through in the U.S. While a handful of startups are trying to get it to take off stateside, the headwinds against the technology may keep it relegated to a handful of uses and industries. Chinese EV company Nio has carved out a battery-swapping niche in the country's luxury market. That's in part because, when done right, battery swapping can essentially replicate the gas station experience: a quick stopover before heading back to the road. The practice promises to eliminate the "range anxiety" that surveys show plagues would-be EV owners by softening the transition, especially for drivers for whom time is of the essence. Yet even in China, the technology has yet to be fully embraced for a handful of reasons that have also slowed battery swapping from spreading in the U.S."

New Antarctic study shows levels of 'forever chemicals' reaching the remote continent have been increasing

More from Lancaster University: "New evidence from Antarctica shows that toxic 'fluorinated forever chemicals' have increased markedly in the remote environment in recent decades and scientists believe CFC-replacements could be among likely sources. Known as forever chemicals because they do not break down naturally in the environment, chemicals such as perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) have a wide array of uses such as in making non-stick coatings for pans, water-repellents for clothing, and in fire-fighting foams. One of these chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), bioaccumulates in foodwebs and is toxic to humans with links to impairment of the immune system and infertility. In this new study, published by the journal Environmental Science & Technology, and led by scientists from Lancaster University along with researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the Hereon Institute of Coastal Environmental Chemistry, Germany, firn (compacted snow) cores were taken from the extremely remote, high and icy Dronning Maud Land plateau of eastern Antarctica."

Thanks for checking in and have a great day! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) and like me on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).

© 2022 StarTribune. All rights reserved.