An air quality alert covering the entire state of Minnesota continues on Thursday, marring otherwise fairly ideal weather conditions.

The alert will remain in effect through 5 p.m. on Saturday, with smoke from Canadian wildfires keeping air quality index levels in the unhealthy categories. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has the latest AQI forecasts on its website.

According to IQAir, Minneapolis' air quality was third-worst among the world's major cities on Thursday afternoon. Only Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chicago had worse AQI levels.

This is one of the longest air quality alerts on record, tying with those issued for St. Louis County during the Greenwood fire in 2021, according to the agency.  

Aside from the smoke, cooler, drier air remains in place, with highs in the 70s and low humidity making for comfortable conditions.

The smoke will likely clear out by Saturday afternoon, leaving the rest of the weekend feeling mostly pleasant.

Our next chance for rain arrives late Sunday into Monday, with more storm chances in the forecast for next week.