textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Cooler and drier conditions continue through at least Thursday midday.

- Next chance for precipitation Thursday-Friday.

- A few storms may be strong Thursday night and Friday.

UPDATE

Issued at 111 AM CDT Wed Aug 5 2026

Dry, cooler conditions continue today, with much of northeast Minnesota in the 40s and the rest of the Northland to join in the early morning hours. Today will be driest, and lowered RH further than most guidance due to expected mixing down of dry air.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 139 PM CDT Tue Aug 4 2026

Northwesterly flow is bringing a classic August fall teaser today, with breezy winds, a broken altocumulus cloud deck, and dewpoints in the 50s. Even lower dewpoints in the 40s are expected overnight into Wednesday morning, which will likely make for a relatively chilly night tonight. Expect overnight lows in the 40s for most, except right along Lake Superior.

Rinse and repeat tomorrow with a westerly breeze in the afternoon, lower dewpoints, and high temperatures in the 70s.

A little wiggle in the upper level flow Thursday should allow for some moisture and warmth advection back into the area, with dewpoints in the mid to upper 50s and temperatures rising into the 80s. That impulse could also lead to some scattered showers and thunderstorms late Thursday through Friday.

We expect to stay under broad upper level troughing into next week which will keep us on the slightly cooler side. Any upper level shortwaves that move through could bring some passing precipitation chances.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 614 AM CDT Wed Aug 5 2026

VFR conditions for all terminals for the TAF period. Fog at HIB and HYR are expected to lift in the next couple hours, though there may be a few occasional dips yet at HYR. Diurnal cumulus is expected again this afternoon with cloud bases around 7 kft, and winds will be out of the west to southwest up to 15 kts.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 111 AM CDT Wed Aug 5 2026

Southwesterly flow will continue over the next couple days. Winds up to 15 kts are expected today. There is a better chance tomorrow for wind gusts up to 25 kts in the near shore waters which will pose a threat to small craft. A Small Craft Advisory will likely be needed Thursday afternoon into the early evening.

For the open water discussion, refer to the NWS Marquette Area Forecast Discussion at weather.gov/mqt.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 111 AM CDT Wed Aug 5 2026

Minimum RH has lowered for today, with values ranging 29 to 35 percent this afternoon. Winds, however, should remain around 15 mph or less out of the west to southwest, so critical fire weather conditions are expected today. Tomorrow will have slightly higher minimum RH values, but higher winds as well out of the southwest up to 20 mph. RHs increase even further later this week with rising dewpoints and the return of chances for precipitation return.

See the Fire Weather Forecast product for a more thorough breakdown of fire weather conditions.

DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...None. WI...None. MARINE...None.