Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Duluth, MN
Issued by NWS Duluth, MN
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995 FXUS63 KDLH 070615 AFDDLH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 115 AM CDT Sun Jun 7 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Elevated fire weather danger Sunday for areas north of the Iron Range in far northern MN. - Hot and muggy conditions beset the region Tuesday and Wednesday. Heat headlines may be needed. - Rain chances Sunday night through Monday. Severe storms chances return Tuesday and Wednesday. && .UPDATE... Issued at 115 AM CDT Sun Jun 7 2026 High pressure shifts east of the region tonight with winds turning southerly to southeasterly for Sunday. The strongest winds will remain west of the Northland, but gusts to 20 to 25 mph will be possible in our far western areas. These winds should help advect some low level moisture northward leading to some minor improvement in afternoon RH values. Given these factors, will replace the Fire Weather Watch with an SPS and give future shifts time to re-evaluate trends. Breezy easterly winds today on western Lake Superior will likely lead to hazardous swimming conditions at the head of the lake. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1259 PM CDT Sat Jun 6 2026 Current Conditions/Today: An upper level ridge combined with surface high pressure is leading to a sunny and a quiet day across the region. Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid and upper 80s by this afternoon. Dry conditions are also on tap with Min RHs dropping into the 30s and mid 20s. Minimal wind today will keep fire weather danger in check. Overnight, some fog may advect in from Lake Superior with most guidance keeping it confined along the shoreline with some spillage at the head of the Lake into the St. Louis River and surrounding low lying areas. Sunday: The upper level trough shifts east with southwest flow aloft promoting further warming temperatures for the day. High temps are expected to climb into the the 90s and upper 80s with cooler temperatures remaining near Lake Superior. An emerging low pressure in the High Plains will lead to a strengthening pressure gradient over the region with southerly winds increasing. This increase in winds paired with dry conditions will prompt increased fire weather danger, particularly across our northwest counties near the Borderlands. Monday: Sunday night into Monday morning will see increased chances of shower and storm activity once again. The Northland will find itself firmly within a warm sector, the persistent southeast flow will have led to PWATs increasing to over 1.75". Isentropic ascent paired with an upper level trough moving in from the south will help to brew some showers. Some storms can`t be ruled out as some weak MUCAPE will be in play, but bulk shear will be absent lending itself to non severe storms expected. Model soundings do show some deep saturation through the column which as currently depicted in the 12Z suite of deterministic guidance may lead to a nice soaking rain for a the Northland. One thing that will need to be monitored is the cold front advancing across the Northern Plains on Monday. Current guidance does not have it breaching our borders before becoming washed out and overtaken by strong warm air advection. But if it manages to maintain, it will have better deep layer shear and could introduce some severe storms across our west. Currently SPC has the threat outside of our region, but worth watching. Tuesday/Wednesday: The region then becomes beset with a warm and moist air mass for Tuesday and Wednesday. High temps will climb into the 90s and our dew points will float around the 60s and 70s with Wednesday expected to be the hottest and muggiest day of the week. Heat indices will go from 90F to some triple digits from the Brainerd lakes region into NW WI. Heat headlines may be needed. As expected with a warm and moist air mass, severe potential cannot be ruled out for Tuesday and Wednesday. MLCAPE will frequently be in excess of 2000 J/kg. With the upper level pattern remaining meridional we will have multiple chances for impulses to roll through the region, if these can admix with diurnal heating we could see strong to severe storms. We are still a little ways out to get into the specifics but confidence is high enough with decent ensemble agreement that SPC has us highlighted in a slight risk for Wednesday, but would not fully rule out Tuesday`s severe potential as well. Late week into the weekend: Cluster analysis shows an upper level low or wave ushering the warm and moist air mass off to the east. However, exact timing still remains in flux with CMCE and the GEFS being more progressive than the ECMWF. But if we take the overall blend from all the families we get relief from the heat starting Thursday and Friday. Precipitation activity also has low predictability at this time range with the Euro favoring a stalled out upper level low over the Canadian Prairies which would increase precipitation chances. The other families are a little less excited with a more progressive upper level pattern. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1235 AM CDT Sun Jun 7 2026 VFR conditions will prevail through the period. Clouds will begin to increase late in the period, but will remain VFR. High pressure will keep winds light and variable tonight before shifting east of the region tomorrow with winds becoming southeasterly. Gusts to 20 knots will be possible through the day before diminishing after sunset. Low clouds and stratus have pushed inland from Lake Superior, but for the most part has been following the terrain into Carlton County and not making much progress up the hill towards the airport itself. Not expecting these lower conditions to reach the airport, but will have to keep a close eye on it. && .MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/... Issued at 115 AM CDT Sun Jun 7 2026 Main forecast concern in the short term will be areas of dense fog across the western arm of the lake through mid to late morning. A Marine Dense Fog Advisory remains in effect for the North Shore and from the Twin Ports to Sand Island. Winds will increase later this morning into this afternoon from the east with gusts to around 20 knots, highest near the Twin Ports. A few higher gusts to 25 knots will be possible as well. This will generate waves of 2 to 4 feet at the head of the lake as well and may lead to hazardous conditions to small craft. Winds will remain easterly for Monday, but will top out at around 15 knots. Chances for showers and thunderstorms then return for Monday and Monday night. For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 115 AM CDT Sun Jun 7 2026 Highs today will be in the 80s and lower 90s for most with 60s and 70s near Lake Superior. Winds will be southerly to southeasterly at 5 to 15 mph with gusts to 20 to perhaps 25 mph, strongest in far western areas. These southerly winds should start to bring in a bit more low level moisture leading to slightly better afternoon RH values with values remaining above 30%. Some areas may dip into the 25 to 30% range in Koochiching, northern Itasca, and northern St. Louis counties, but is not expected to be widespread. A more active weather period arrives Monday and lasts through the week with multiple chances for wetting rainfalls. See the Fire Weather Forecast product for a more thorough breakdown of fire weather conditions. && .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...None. WI...None. MARINE...Dense Fog Advisory until 10 AM CDT this morning for LSZ140>146. && $$ UPDATE...BJH DISCUSSION...Britt AVIATION...BJH MARINE...BJH FIRE WEATHER...BJH