Red Air Quality Alert in effect for Minnesota until Monday due to wildfire smoke

Northland wildfire smoke will make for a hot and hazy start to the weekend. 

Smoke is one of the two main stories this weekend — and possibly next week too. 

Air quality will be impacted severely on Saturday — more so than Friday— as most of the state is under Red Air Quality Alerts, which will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Monday.

The smoke will fluctuate in altitude, allowing for periods of reprieve, however the haze will likely persist.

Temperatures are the other story this weekend as they continue to climb. Saturday will see highs in the low and mid 80s, with the possibility of hitting 90 in spots on Sunday and Monday.

Monday will likely be the hottest day of the season this year, challenging daily record highs in the low 90s.

The next chance for rain comes Monday night into Tuesday. Models show that most place will only see one to one and half inches of rain, which will likely wrapping up by Wednesday morning.

Some parts of the system could be strong to severe across west-central Minnesota late Monday. Be sure to stay with WCCO as meteorologist fine tune this forecast over the next few days. 

Along with breezy winds, temperatures will drop back closer to average into the 70s for the middle to end of the week.