Friday Evening Northland Forecast: 5/30/2025

Smoky Weekend

Yes, the air is very smoky. And, it’s particularly noticeable in the mornings, and in the evenings. It makes for weird sky colors in the morning, and some spectacular sunsets in the evenings. It is all due, of course, to more than 1,200 wildfires burning in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. Because of all that smoke, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an Air Quality Alert, effective until 6pm Monday. That is for the entire state of Minnesota, but most of all, for the northern half of Minnesota. There are also air quality alerts in effect for much of Wisconsin, and Michigan, too. So, be aware of that, and think about limiting your outside activities this weekend.

If you take the smoke out of the equation, we have a pretty decent several days of weather coming up. We will have mostly sunny skies this weekend, with highs in the 70s. We will heat up on Monday, due to strong southerly winds, when we might have highs in the mid to upper 80s. With the smoke still hanging around, that could be an uncomfortable day. At this point, there is a good chance for showers on Tuesday, and that would make things a little cooler, and more tolerable. We continue to be down on precipitation for the year, so a good day of rain would be most welcome. Wednesday through Friday will be sunny again, with highs in the 70s. But, it seems we may have to get used to smoke from Canadian fires for the next several weeks. I don’t see 1,200 separate fires being extinguished very quickly.

So, enjoy the last Saturday of May, and the first Sunday of June. Summer goes by very quickly. Make the most of it, and just be aware of how you’re feeling if you’re in a smoky area. Watching your favorite baseball team on TV in the house would be okay, too!

FOX 21 Meteorologist Karl Spring