The simulated radar from AM Wednesday to PM Thursday shows unsettled weather moving south and east with much cooler and quieter weather in place through the 2nd half of the week. Showers and storms won't make a return until this upcoming weekend.

It has been an extremely dry stretch of weather across much of the station over the last several weeks. Only a few locations have seen decent pockets of rain, but the drought is expanding. Severe drought conditions have popped up across parts of central Minnesota with moderate drought now in place across parts of the Twin Cities.

The map below shows the 60 day precipitation anomaly, which indicates that some locations are nearly -3.00" to nearly -6.00" below average (in red) since early May.

The weather outlook for the Twin Cities on Wednesday, July 5th shows much cooler weather in place with temps only warming into the mid 70s, which will actually be below average for this time of the year. There could be a few lingering showers early in the morning, mainly south and east of the Twin Cities, but we'll see gradually clearing skies through most of the day.

The hourly temps through the day Wednesday shows temps in the mid 60s in the morning with highs warming into the mid 70s by the afternoon. Northwesterly winds will be a little breezy with gusts around 20mph.

Temps across the region on Wednesday will warm into the 60s and 70s across the state, which will actually be some of the coolest weather we've seen since mid June. Temps will be nearly -5F to -15F below average for this time of the year.

Temperatures for the Twin Cities will will be nearly -5F to -10F below average through Thursday with highs only warming into the mid 70s for early July. Temps will gradually warm into the low/mid 80s as we approach the weekend, which will be closer to average for this time of the year.

The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities looks quite a bit cooler and drier through the 2nd half of the week with comfortable temps and dewpoints. It'll get a little warmer and stickier as we approach the weekend with a chance of showers and storms returning as well.

The NBM extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis will be quite a bit cooler as we slide through the 2nd half of the week with highs only warming into the 70s. It'll gradually get warmer with readings in the 80s this weekend and into next week.

Weather conditions in the Midwest will turn drier and more comfortable through the 2nd half of the week. Our next best chance of showers and storms arrives as we approach the weekend with pockets of heavy rainfall possible.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows warmer-than-average temperatures across the Southern US, while cooler temps develop across parts of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across parts of the northern tier of the nation, especially from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast. Drier weather will continue in the Southern and Southwestern US.

Yesterday's thunderstorms will rumble east during the daylight hours today giving way to much more comfortable air through the end of the week. Dewpoints fall into 40s with highs warming into 70s for the first time since mid-June. By the way, yesterday's high of 95 degrees at the MSP Airport, was the hottest day of 2023 so far. The metro typically sees 14 days in the 90s each year and we've already tallied 13.

Storms return as we get closer to the weekend. Hey, we'll take the rain!

WEDNESDAY: AM shower. PM sunshine. Winds: NW 10-15. High: 76.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and cooler. Winds: NNW 5-15. Low: 57.

THURSDAY: Comfy. Bright, beautiful sunshine. Winds: WNW 5-10. High 77.

SATURDAY: Mix sun & clouds. PM t-showers. Winds: WSW 5-10. Wake-up. 63. High: 82.

SUNDAY: Unsettled skies. Scattered storms. Winds: ESE 5-10. Wake-up: 64. High: 83.

MONDAY: Breezy. Lingering rain & rumbles early. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 62. High: 84.

TUESDAY: Isolated afternoon thundershower. Winds: WSW 8-13. Wake-up: 63. High 84.

July 5th

July 5th

Average High: 83F (Record: 100F set in 1982)

Average Low: 65F (Record: 45F set in 1967 & 1972)

Record Rainfall: 1.62" set in 1994

Record Snowfall: NONE

Sunrise: 5:33m

Sunset: 9:02pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 28 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 58 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 8 minutes

July 3 at 6:39 a.m. CDT - The Full Buck Moon, when the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, thunderstorms being now most frequent. Sometimes also called the Full Hay Moon.

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Wednesday will be well above average across the Midwest and and Front Range of the Rockies, while well above average will continue in the Pacific Northwest, where excessive heat concerns are in place.

The weather outlook on Wednesday will be a little unsettled along and east of the Mississippi River Valley. Some of the storm could be strong to severe with large hail, damaging winds and even some tornadoes.

The weather outlook through Thursday shows unsettled weather across parts of the Central and Eastern US with strong to severe storms possible. There could also be locally heavy rainfall and isolated flood concerns.

"Smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada is flowing across the U.S. East Coast, triggering air quality alerts in the "hazardous" category in some areas. But what do those air quality alerts mean? The color-coded Air Quality Index categories you'll find on the Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow website rank air quality on a 500-point scale and are meant to give the public an easy way to understand the health effects of the air around them daily. The lowest numbers on the scale indicate healthy air, and the high end is hazardous. The Air Quality Index considers five measurements of air pollution: ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. These pollutants have health impacts, typically involving irritation and inflammation of the respiratory system, which can, in turn, contribute to the development of conditions such as asthma and heart disease."

See more from Scientific American HERE:

"Near-surface air pollution is a serious health hazard estimated to cause millions of deaths annually. Soot, emitted for instance from coal burning or from motor vehicles, is one such pollutant. "The amount of pollution we are exposed to is first and foremost controlled by the level of emissions. However, meteorological conditions such as the presence of rain or the amount of turbulence can cause either dilution or accumulation of the emitted pollutants. Turbulence acts as an important transporter of pollutants away from the surface," explained senior researcher Camilla Stjern at CICERO Center for International Climate Research who is the lead author of the new study published in Nature Communications."

See more from Phys.org HERE:

"Philadelphia is looking at a wet, hot future, and it's not a good thing. Phys.org reported that data from the Climate Resilience Research Agenda's (CRRA) new study show that the Delaware River could rise by more than a foot by the 2050s, while average temperatures in the City of Brotherly Love could rise by nearly six degrees, with a potential rise in extreme heat days. What's happening? The overheating of our planet, largely due to our reliance on dirty energy sources like gas and oil, is accelerating, and it will have a devastating effect on both the Delaware River Basin and the city of Philadelphia. The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed reported that an increase in average annual precipitation and the frequency and intensity of storms means that nearly 170 U.S. communities will experience chronic flooding within 20 years. "The challenges we are facing are really immense," Raymond Najjar, a professor of Oceanography in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, said at a conference on the topic, Delaware Currents reported."