Here's the weather outlook from AM Wednesday to AM Monday. Weather conditions will turn quite a bit more unsettled as we approach the end of the week. Isolated showers and storms on Wednesday will become more widespread late Thursday into Friday and linger into Saturday.

The extended precipitation outlook through the rest of the week and weekend ahead shows areas of widespread soaking rains of nearly +1" or more across the northern half of the state. The southern half of the state could get some decent rains of 0.5" to 1.0" as well.

Here's the latest drought update across Minnesota. Severe drought decreased a little from nearly 4% last week to less than 3% this week. Moderate drought decreased from nearly 14% to nearly 11% this.

The weather outlook for Wednesday shows temps running pretty close to have with highs warming into the upper 70s and lower 80s. There will also be spotty showers and storms, but they still won't be too widespread until later in the week.

The weather outlook for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows temps warming to near 80F in the afternoon with isolated showers and storms possible. The best chance of storms will still be later Thursday into Friday and Saturday.

The hourly forecast for Minneapolis on Wednesday shows temperatures starting in the mid 60s and warming to near 80F by the afternoon. Southwesterly winds should be fairly light through much of the day as well with a few isolated t-showers possible as well.

The extended temperature outlook for Minneapolis shows near average temperatures through Thursday with cooler than average temps returning late week and into the weekend. Note that the average high dips into the upper 70s by the last week of the month. Enjoy the warmth while you can, it'll be gone before we know it.

According to the NBM & ECMWF extended temperature outlook, temperatures over the next several days will be close to average. Readings will likely bounce around the 70s and 80s through the 2nd half of the month.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 day temperature outlook shows above average temps in the Western & Eastern US, while cooler than average temps are in place across the central and southern US.

According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, the 8 to 14 Day precipitation outlook shows drier weather in place across the Midwest. However, the southern two-thirds of the looks wetter and more active.

Hard to believe, but the Great Minnesota Sweat Together is only a week away. For Minnesotans, this marks the unofficial end of summer, where you can get anything on a stick right up to Labor Day. If food on a stick doesn't fit your fancy, try the new Reuben rolls or pickle pizza!

While your mouth waters, chew on this; we've lost nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice and will lose another hour through Labor Day. It's inevitable, winter is coming, just like Game of Thrones told us, but we'll still have plenty of wonderfully warm and sunny days yet this summer and fall.

Beachgoers will likely need a plan B, but lawns and gardens will very happy! So happy, they'll wet their plants!

WEDNESDAY: Spotty T-Shower possible. Winds: SSW 5. High: 80.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Chance of storms. Winds: SSW 5. Low: 62.

THURSDAY: Increasing PM rain and rumble risk. Winds: SW 5-10. High: 80.

FRIDAY: Scattered showers and storms. Cooler. Winds: S 5. Wake-up: 63. High: 73.

SUNDAY: Gradual clearing. Isolated pm shower. Winds: ENE 5. Wake-up: 62. High: 74.

MONDAY: Sunnier and slightly warmer. Winds: NE 5. Wake-up: 58. High: 78.

TUESDAY: Mix of clouds & sun. Stray pm shower? Winds: E 5. Wake-up: 58. High: 77.

August 17th

1981: Chilly temperatures are felt across Minnesota. Tower reports a low of 33 degrees.

Average High: 81F (Record: 100F set in 1947)

Average Low: 63F (Record: 42F set in 1962)

Record Rainfall: 1.62" set in 1905

Record Snowfall: None

August 17th

Sunset: 8:16pm

Hours of Daylight: ~13 hours & 59 minutes

Daylight LOST since yesterday: ~ 2 minutes & 48 seconds

Daylight LOST since Winter Solstice (December 21st): ~ 1 hour & 38 minutes

0.9 Before Last Quarter Moon

Weather conditions through Thursday will continue to be unsettled in the Desert Southwest as widespread monsoon storms continue. Some of the storms could produce locally heavy rains and flooding. There will also be storms across the Gulf Coast States with areas of heavy rain. Later in the week, widespread showers will arrive in the Midwest.

According to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center, areas of heavier precipitation will be found in the Desert Southwest with more monsoon storms. There will also be areas of heavier rain across the Southern US and Gulf Coast States. Meanwhile, much of the Pacific Northwest will stay dry.

"If you've ever emerged from the shower or returned from walking your dog with a clever idea or a solution to a problem you'd been struggling with, it may not be a fluke. Rather than constantly grinding away at a problem or desperately seeking a flash of inspiration, research from the last 15 years suggests that people may be more likely to have creative breakthroughs or epiphanies when they're doing a habitual task that doesn't require much thought—an activity in which you're basically on autopilot. This lets your mind wander or engage in spontaneous cognition or "stream of consciousness" thinking, which experts believe helps retrieve unusual memories and generate new ideas. "People always get surprised when they realise they get interesting, novel ideas at unexpected times because our cultural narrative tells us we should do it through hard work," says Kalina Christoff, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. "It's a pretty universal human experience."

See more from National Geographic HERE:

"A new study reveals the emergence of an "extreme heat belt" from Texas to Illinois, where the heat index could reach 125°F at least one day a year by 2053. The big picture: In just 30 years, climate change will cause the Lower 48 states to be a far hotter and more precarious place to be during the summer. The findings come from a hyperlocal analysis of current and future extreme heat events published Monday by the nonprofit First Street Foundation. The new report is unique for examining current and future heat risks down to the property level across the country, and joins similar risk analyses First Street has completed for flooding and wildfires. As average temperatures increase due to human-driven greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, instances of extreme heat are forecast to escalate. This report makes clear where households will be vulnerable to what would now be considered almost unheard-of heat indices, which show how the air feels from the combination of air temperature and relative humidity."

"Heavy monsoon rains have helped to relieve the Southwest's historic drought, but water officials say the deluge isn't enough to reverse a drying trend that has depleted the region's primary water sources. Much of the West remains entrenched in a 23-year "historically unprecedented" drought driven by climate change, said Jonathan Deason, an environmental engineering professor at George Washington University. "It's going to take about three years of above-average rainfall to have substantial recovery," he said. Most of the Southwest has received more than double its normal amount of rain since June, according to the latest US Drought Monitor. Some areas, especially in New Mexico, have seen drought conditions improve over the summer from exceptionally extreme to just severe or abnormally dry."

See more from Bloomberg Law HERE: