Sven Sundgaard: Don't get used to the cooldown — heat and smoke could follow
Sven Sundgaard: Don't get used to the cooldown — heat and smoke could follow originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
We really seem to be in a back-and-forth of one week of cooler, wetter weather in the central U.S., and then another week of hotter, drier weather, as the battle between spring and summer continues.
The next several days will be marked by a cool upper-level low/trough pattern in the north-central U.S., making for slightly cooler-than-normal temperatures and unsettled, showery weather.
The cool front that swept into much of the northern and central U.S. Monday night is still evident — stalled out across the central U.S. Thursday — just by looking at the dew points:
The moisture sufficient for any real severe storms (dew points of 60 degrees +) will be confined to the southern half of the country mostly into the weekend. That means severe weather outlooks remain mostly in the central and southern Plains and the Southeast.
Portions of northern Texas and Oklahoma have 'slight risks' of severe thunderstorms each of the next four days.
But wait, there's more! The pattern shifts again in the middle of next week into next weekend (June 14–15), as another upper-level ridge of heat and high pressure brings relatively dry weather and above-normal temperatures to the central U.S., while the coasts again see cooler, wetter weather.
The other thing many northern states are contending with is Canadian wildfire smoke. Thursday, it's affecting the Chicago and Detroit areas after setting records in Minnesota Tuesday. Air quality is unhealthy (red category) for both cities Thursday.
That Canadian wildfire smoke has drifted all the way to Europe — in the upper levels of the atmosphere over the U.K. and France now.
Unfortunately, with the number of fires and hot, dry conditions in central and western Canada, this will likely be something most northern states have to deal with on and off all summer.
Most medium- to longer-range models keep much of central Canada warmer and drier than normal. It will take a sustained cool, wet period to put out most of those fires.This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
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