textproduct: Duluth

KEY MESSAGES

- Dangerous swimming conditions exist along Duluth and Superior beaches through this afternoon due to strong rip currents and waves.

- Dense fog over Lake Superior will create hazardous navigation conditions into this afternoon and probably overnight too.

- Hot and muggy inland today with heat indices approaching 90, followed by a drier but still warm stretch for Tuesday and Wednesday.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1144 AM CDT Mon Jul 27 2026

For the rest of today, a hot and muggy afternoon across the Northland with temperatures warming well into the 80s and even low 90s far inland. Closer to Lake Superior, brisk northeast winds will keep temperatures cooler but will also drive high waves and dangerous rip currents along the Twin Ports beaches - a Beach Hazards Statement is in effect today. Areas of dense fog and will also linger into the afternoon, especially near the lake.

Heading into tonight and Tuesday, high pressure begins to build into our area, ushering in a drier and a slightly more comfortable airmass. While daytime highs on Tuesday will remain unseasonably warm in the 80s to lower 90s, the oppressive humidity will take a subtle break. Expect mostly sunny skies with patchy smoke continuing to drift overhead. A stray afternoon shower or thunderstorm cannot be completely ruled out, but the vast majority of the region will stay dry and pleasant. Marine fog may drift on and off shore but that will also help moderate temperatures.

The quiet weather holds firm through Wednesday as the upper level ridge dominates the central United States. Highs will again reach the mid 80s to lower 90s across northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Overnight lows during this stretch will provide some relief, dropping comfortably into the upper 50s and 60s.

Our next significant weather maker arrives on Thursday and Friday as a shortwave trough and associated cold front approach from the west. This system will bring our next widespread chance for showers and thunderstorms, and possibly some severe threat too though shear looks a little weak at the moment and could be the limiting factor. As southerly flow increases ahead of the front, humidity levels will creep back up, maintaining high temperatures in the upper 80s despite the increased cloud cover and precipitation chances.

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, the Northland will remain in a somewhat stagnant weather pattern. Afternoon highs will generally stay in the 80s. With the main storm track positioned to our north, we can expect occasional, less organized waves of showers and storms to dive across the area.

Looking toward the first week of August, the Climate Prediction Center indicates that the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region will likely experience above normal temperatures. Precipitation signals are weaker, but slightly favor near to below normal precipitation across the area as upper level ridging influences the central CONUS.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 1155 AM CDT Mon Jul 27 2026

Flight conditions across the region will gradually improve from IFR and MVFR to VFR as a system exits to the southeast. Low clouds and patchy dense fog will scatter out at most terminals by mid afternoon. Expect gusty winds from the east-northeast at KDLH, with gusts up to 25 knots possible into the afternoon before subsiding this evening. Patchy fog may return tonight, but confidence remains low put some in where LAMP guidance has been trending upwards.

MARINE /FOR NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR/

Issued at 1138 AM CDT Mon Jul 27 2026

Hazardous conditions will persist across western Lake Superior into this afternoon and probably overnight. Dense fog will restrict visibility to under one nautical mile for nearshore waters, while northeast winds gusting to 25 knots build waves of 3 to 5 feet. Small Craft Advisories and a Dense Fog Advisory remain in effect today. Winds and waves will subside this evening as high pressure builds in, allowing winds to become light and variable at 10 knots or less for Tuesday and Wednesday. Dense fog may linger overnight though.

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

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1138 AM CDT Mon Jul 27 2026

Hot temperatures and lack of precip are the fire weather concerns for most of this week. Relative humidity values will mostly bottom out above 40 percent this week with winds gusting to 10 to 15 mph from various directions through the week, mitigating extreme fire weather conditions.

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

DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...Beach Hazards Statement until 5 PM CDT this afternoon for MNZ037. WI...Beach Hazards Statement until 5 PM CDT this afternoon for WIZ001. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 5 PM CDT this afternoon for LSZ121- 143>148-150. Dense Fog Advisory until 5 PM CDT this afternoon for LSZ140>145.