According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there is a risk of strong to severe thunderstorms on Wednesday. A Slight Risk (in yellow) indicates a level 2 out of 5 for the potential of isolated large hail and damaging wind events from near the Twin Cities into southeastern Minnesota and into Western Wisconsin.

The simulated radar from AM Wednesday to Midday Thursday shows scattered showers and storms in place during the morning hours of Wednesday and thunderstorms redeveloping in the afternoon hours of Wednesday. Some of the storms PM Wednesday could be strong to severe with large hail and damaging winds.

Pockets of heavy rainfall can't be ruled out across parts of the state. Some locations could see up to 1" or more, mainly north and east of the Twin Cities.

Thanks to several days of hot and extremely dry weather, there remains a burning restriction across northeastern Minnesota. There are also some burning restrictions across the southern half of the state and into eastern Minnesota.

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 mid May. This is where drought conditions are expanding.

There has only been 2.54" of rain at the MSP Airport since May 1st, which is the 4th driest May 1st - June 26th on record. The driest such stretch was back in 1988, when only 1.92" of rain fell.

The hourly temps through the day Wednesday shows temps starting in the upper 60s in the morning with highs warming to near 80F by the afternoon. Chances of showers and thunderstorms will take us through the day with some of the storms a little on the strong to severe side later in the day. Southerly winds will be breezy with some 20mph gusts possible.

Temps across the region on Wednesday will warm into the 70s and 80s, which will be close to average for this time of the year. Chances of showers and thunderstorms will be possible through the day, some of which could be strong to severe with locally heavy rainfall.

Temperatures for the Twin Cities will continue to remain at or slightly above average for this time of the year with readings in the mid to upper 80s.

Dewpoints will remain sticky through the rest of the week with readings into the low/mid 60s. It won't be quite as sticky this weekend with readings down into the lower 60s.

The extended weather outlook for the Twin Cities won't be quite as hot as it through much of June. However, we'll still be a little above average through the last few days of June and into July. Isolated thunder chances linger into Thursday before drying out again this weekend. Isolated storm chances return into early next week once again.

Weather conditions in the Midwest will be a little unsettled through midweek before drying out a little this weekend. The extended outlook shows slightly more unsettled weather across parts of the region as we slide into the early part of July.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14-day temperature outlook shows warmer-than-average temperatures settling in across the Great Lakes, Northeast and across the Southern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows more active weather possible across the Central US and possibly even across the Midwest. Fingers crossed that we see more rain chances.

"Man plans. God laughs" is still my favorite proverb. I planned on tracking angry thunderstorms in June, not dirty ribbons of wildfire smoke.

Yesterday the Twin Cities had the second worst air quality of any major city on the planet, second only to Chicago. From fires that resulted from an historic May Canadian heatwave, and lightning igniting hundreds of fires.

A few T-storms later today may become severe, with large hail, damaging winds and a stray tornado. Otherwise I see more warm sunshine Thursday into the Monday with 80s giving way 90F by Sunday and Monday. T-storms may rumble in on the 4th of July, but it's way too early for details. Smoke? Your guess is as good as mine. My hunch: the rest of the summer will be partly smoky and hot.

WEDNESDAY: Strong to severe T-storms. Winds: S 10-15. High: 82.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Chance of storms overnight. Winds: W 5-10. Low: 67.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny and warm. Winds: NW 8-13. High 86.

FRIDAY: Sunny spells. The lake beckons. Winds: NW 8-13. Wake-up: 66. High 87.

SUNDAY: Ditto. Sunny and hot. Winds: NE 5-10. Wake-up: 68. High: 89.

MONDAY: Hazy-blue sky. Stinking hot. Winds: SW 5-10. Wake-up. 69. High: 91.

TUESDAY: Unsettled, few T-storms possible. Winds: SW 5-10. Wake-up: 71. High 87.

June 28th

1876: The latest ice breakup in history for Duluth occurs on Lake Superior.

Average High: 82F (Record: 102F set in 1931)

Average Low: 64F (Record: 47F set in 1895 & 1924)

Record Rainfall: 2.33" set in 1920

Record Snowfall: NONE

June 28th

Sunset: 9:03pm

Hours of Daylight: ~15 hours & 34 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: 29 Seconds

Daylight LOST since Summer Solstice (June 21st): ~ 2 minutes

4.2 Days Until Full "Buck" Moon

See more from Space.com HERE:

Temperatures on Wednesday will be well above average across the Central and Southern US, where a number of excessive heat concerns are in place and where a number of record highs will be likely through the week ahead.

The weather outlook on Wednesday will be a little unsettled across parts of the Central US and across the northern tier of the nation, where some strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible.

The weather outlook through Thursday shows unsettled weather across the northern tier of the nation, where some isolated strong to severe storms will be possible along with some locally heavy rainfall.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, the extended precipitation outlook shows heavier precipitation across parts of the Central US, from the Plains to the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and into the Northern New England States

See more from Grist HERE:

The State of the Climate in Europe 2022 report produced by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals how decades of warming is taking a major human, economic and environmental toll in Europe. Since the 1980s, Europe has warmed at a rate of 0.5°C per decade, more than twice the global average and making it the fastest warming of the regions the WMO assess. As temperatures soared across the continent in 2022, sea surface warming reached new highs, glacier melt was unprecedented, and Europe experienced its hottest summer ever recorded.

See more from Phys.org HERE:

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but the stunning June heat records in recent weeks are quite worrisome. In a tweet this weekend, the National Weather Service office in San Angelo, Texas said, "San Angelo topped out at 112°, which smashed the previous record of 105° set back in 1994. It's hard to believe that just a week ago, 112° would've been our all-time record high and now it's just another day of 110° heat to add to the count." The state is experiencing a third week of record heat and is likely to experience heat comparable to the Sahara Desert, one of the hottest places on Earth. Here's why.

See more from Forbes HERE: