The Northland will be quite warm today with plenty of widespread sunshine and a southerly pumping in warm air advection temperatures will be 15-20 degrees above normal. This will be the last day of the weeklong warm up as a cold front is edging in for the weekend.

Widespread 70s across the region with some areas nearing the low 80s further inland. Tonight, will be in the low 50s with another great opportunity to see the Northern Lights. The KP index is showing a favorable display and optimal viewing across northern Minnesota and Wisconsin tonight as we have been consistently seeing glimpses for almost a week straight. Winds from the south will continue overnight helping to clear out any remaining clouds from the warm afternoon.

The prolonged dry conditions and warm temperatures this afternoon will lead to near critical fire weather conditions throughout north central Minnesota. Parts of Brainerd Lakes and north into the Chippewa National Forest and Koochiching County see elevated risks. The key contributing factors for the fire risk is the low relative humidity, above normal temperatures and breeze from the south.

As we continue to see the warm and sunny conditions, we are still waiting for some rain. A strong cold front on Friday will help bring temperatures back down to normal and a chance for some light rain across the Arrowhead and South Shore Saturday night into Sunday.

Today

Sunny, with a high near 73. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday

Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 65. Breezy, with a northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday

Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Sunday

A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy, with a north wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Columbus Day

Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 52. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 58. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.