NWS: Last Day Below 90 in St. Cloud for the Rest of July

UNDATED -- Cloudy skies today will hold highs below 90, likely for the last time in July for much of Minnesota.

The high temperature in St. Cloud during the past two days was officially 89 degrees.  The expected high today is 85.

Wildfire smoke will lead to poor air quality once today.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has issued an air quality alert for northern, central, and southeast Minnesota, through Thursday, July 22, at 6 a.m.

The affected area includes Hibbing, International Falls, Bemidji, Roseau, East Grand Forks, Moorhead, Brainerd, St. Cloud, the Twin Cities, Rochester, Mankato, and the tribal areas of Leech Lake, Red Lake, Fond du Lac, Mille Lacs, Upper Sioux, and Prairie Island.

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Our best shot at seeing rain looks to come Friday night, but otherwise, our dry weather pattern looks to continue, with drought conditions likely to worsen.

Waite Park and St. Joseph are the first two cities in the St. Cloud metro area to issue a total water ban.  (Sartell and Sauk Rapids both did have a total water ban for a few days earlier this summer, but that has been lifted - for now.)

We're now more than three inches below normal for precipitation so far this year.