How heat and smoke are set to impact Minnesota this summer
It's safe to say the Land of 10,000 Lakes offers some of the best summer weather in the country, but oppressive heat and smoke — particularly in recent years — can have negative impacts.
"Looking back at the last several summers, even going back as far as a decade, warmer summers are kind of a theme nowadays," said Brent Hewett, a forecaster with the National Weather Service Twin Cities.
Weather models predict a warmer summer than normal, Hewett said, likely by one or two degrees above average.
Along with that warmer temperatures usually comes dryer conditions, he said, meaning droughts could pose a problem as we get deeper into the year.
Also a problem? Wildfire smoke. This season, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency forecasts 12 to 16 smoky days with alerts.
"It just depends on what happens in Canada. It depends on how many wildfires they get, how close are those wildfires to Minnesota," said MPCA Meteorologist Ryan Lueck.
It could be worse. Smokey alert days are forecast to be fewer than they were in 2021, 2023 and 2025, Lueck said.
Wildfires generally pick up in Canada between mid-June to early July, Hewett said, and hang on through the second half of summer.