Monday morning could be quite noisy with scattered showers and storms through the first half of the day, some of which could be strong to severe with heavy rainfall. The good news is that things should clear out a bit as we head through the day. There could be a few isolated thunderstorms later in the afternoon/evening, but at this point it should be fairly isolated.

According to NOAA's SPC, there is a risk of strong to severe thunderstorms in the morning and again later in the day. Gusty winds and hail with be the primary threat along with heavy rainfall. There could be another round of isolated strong to severe storms later in the day, especially across southeastern MN.

The weather outlook for the 4th of July Monday looks unsettled across the state. Scattered showers and storms will be possible, some of which could be strong to severe early in the day with locally heavy rainfall. Highs will warm into the 70s and 80s across much of the state with some 90s possible in the Southwest corner. The high temp in the Twin Cities will warm into the upper 80s, which will be nearly +5F above average.

Here's the weather outlook from 12AM to 7PM Monday, which shows a strong line of thunderstorms moving through the Upper Midwest through the first half of the day. there could be a few more storms later in the afternoon/evening that could be a little on the stronger side as well.

Here's the extended rainfall potential through Tuesday. Several round of thunderstorms may be possible with locally heavy pockets of rain here and there across the region. Some locations could see up to an inch of rain or more through the 4th of July.

Here's the precipitation departure from average so far this year. Note the Twin Cities is more than -2.25" below average so far this year, but just an hour north, St. Cloud is nearly +6.00" above average, which is good enough for the 8th wettest start to any year on record there.

Here's the latest drought update across Minnesota. Thanks to a dry June across much of southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, abnormally dry conditions have popped up. There is even a sliver of moderate drought in extreme southern MN.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows at or slightly above average temperatures in the Twin Cities metro over the next few days. The warmest and most humid day will be the 4th of July Monday with highs warming into the upper 80s.

The extended weather outlook over the next 7 days shows at or slightly above average temperatures through most of next week. there will also be rounds of showers and thunderstorms, especially through the first half of next week. Note that some of the rains could be locally heavy as well.

According to the ECMWF & GFS extended temperature outlook, temps over the next few days will be near average. Temperatures look to gradually warm as we head into mid July with a few more 90s possible.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows above average temps across much of the Central US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather in place from the Desert Southwest.

According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, nearly 14,000 fireworks displays will brighten tonight's sky. Atmospheric Environment says that this will boost this evening's air pollution by nearly 42 percent. The most dangerous type of air pollution, PM2.5, can be nearly 8 to 10 times higher following a large firework display.

Mother nature will get in on the action today as well with scattered showers and storms through the first half of the day. Keep in mind that some of the storm could be a little on the vigorous side with locally heavy rainfall. The good news is that much of the inclement weather will fade by the time you light the grill this afternoon. The week ahead looks warm & somewhat sticky with spotty rain and rumble chances. Sounds perfectly like summer.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

MONDAY: Scattered storms, some strong. Winds: S 5-10. High: 88.

MONDAY NIGHT: Showers & storms likely. Winds: S 5-10. Low: 70.

WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. PM Rumbles. Winds: ESE 5-10. Wake-up: 68. High: 85.

THURSDAY: Spotty t-storm possible. Winds: NNE 5-10. Wake-up: 69. High: 86.

FRIDAY: Drying out. Warm temps. Winds: ENE 5-10. Wake-up: 66. High: 85.

SATURDAY: Summerlike. A few PM t-showers. Winds: SE 10-15. Wake-up: 65. High: 86.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. Isolated pm rumble. Winds: SSW 10-15. Wake-up: 66. High: 90.

1999: Severe winds knock down millions of trees in the BWCA, injuring 19 people.

1962: An extremely heavy downpour falls at Jackson, dumping 7.5 inches of rain in two hours.

July 4th

Average High: 83F (Record: 101F set in 2012)

Average Low: 65F (Record: 43F set in 1972)

Record Snowfall: None

July 4th

Sunrise: 5:32am

Sunset: 9:02pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 29 minutes

Daylight LOST since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 8 minutes

1.8 Days Before First Quarter Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

The weather outlook on Monday shows at or slightly above average temperatures settling in across much of the Central US with some showers and storms as well. The coolest weather will be found along the West Coast with highs running nearly -5F below average for early July.

According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there is a risk of strong to severe thunderstorms across the High Plains and Midwest with large hail, damaging winds and even some tornadoes.

Weather conditions through the Tuesday will be quite unsettled across the Front Range of the Rockies into the Midwest. Some of the storms could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall. There will also be strong to severe storms early next week with locally heavy rain in the Northeast.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavier precipitation will be found across the northern tier of the nation, through the Midwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. Also note the heavy rainfall across the Mid-Atlantic States, this is in association with Tropical Storm Colin.

"Over tens of millions of years, the wingless midge Belgica antarctica has perfected the art of freezing itself to push through the darkest and coldest of Antarctica's winter months, carving out an exclusive niche as the continent's only native insect. As climate change nudges polar temperatures ever higher, this hard-earned set of survival skills could ironically be detrimental to its very existence, potentially driving it to the brink of extinction. Laboratory experiments conducted by a team of researchers from the US, UK, and South Africa showed warmer winters in the frozen south greatly impacted the insect's movements and energy stores, jeopardizing the chances of it seeing another summer."

See more from Science Alert HERE:

"As many as 4 billion people could be living outside the optimal climate for humans by the end of the century if we hit 2.7°C of global warming. At 1.5°C of warming, half as many people would be affected. As much as 40 per cent of humanity could be living outside the optimal climate for humans by the end of the century if we hit 2.7°C of global warming. At 1.5°C of warming, half as many people would be affected. Among the many ways to quantify the effects of climate change is to consider how a warmer world might change the climate in the places humans have historically lived."

"THE MAKERS OF wind turbines have, for many decades now, labored to harness one of the mightiest forces in nature. They've moved from onshore to offshore sites, building ever larger rotors with huge blades, each one now longer than a row of 10 London buses. And they've stacked those rotors atop dizzying towers, constantly reaching for new, blustery heights."

See more from Wired HERE: