Hazy Sunny Stretch Continues, Temperatures Slowly Rise

Hazy Sunshine Ahead:

Our weekend began on a dry and seasonable note, as an area of high pressure sits comfortably to the north of the region. Under a mixture of fair-weather cumulus clouds and hazy sunshine, afternoon highs fell on either side of the 80° mark. 

Now, we've seen a decrease in these clouds as we approached the evening hours, leaving us with just the hazy sunshine. This milky/hazy look to the sky is a result of the vast amount of smoke that's being produced by the intense wildfires to the west and up in the Canadian Prairies. This smoke as it lifts higher and higher into the atmosphere gets caught in the jet stream and tracks along with it into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. With our flow in the upper-levels being out of the northwest, we'll continue to see plenty of smoke track into the region. From what it looks like, this smoke won't affect our air quality much, but it will definitely make for beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Sunday features just as much sunshine, with afternoon highs climbing up the thermometer by a degree or two. Guidance does show a very slim chance for an afternoon light shower or two, with much of the activity staying south of I-80. 

Not much change is expected into next week, as this area of high pressure barely moves. The weather pattern remains sunny and dry, with the heat slowly rising with each day. High temperatures look to top out in the upper 80s Monday afternoon, with the potential for our next 90° day coming on Tuesday. Rain chances arrive late Tuesday, but ramp up Wednesday thanks to a backdoor cold front sliding in from the Great Lakes.