Currently in the Twin Cities — June 22, 2023: Hot again Thursday with reduced air quality

The weather, currently.

Wednesday was number 8 for days in the 90s if you’re keeping track. A reminder the normal value is about 3 at this point. Another high mark we hit that’s not very good is ozone on Tuesday afternoon. The ozone level in the Twin Cities reached a peak not seen since June 27, 2012. Ozone levels are expected to remain occasionally unhealthy through Thursday. We’ll also likely hit 90°F again Thursday and probably Friday. The chance of showers and thunder increases by the weekend. We could see some isolated activity late Friday but late Saturday looks to be the best bet.

— Sven Sundgaard

What you can do, currently.

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What you need to know, currently.

Tropical Storm Bret, the first named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season to threaten land, is expected to pass through the Leeward Islands on Thursday, very close to Barbados.

Initially forecast to grow into the season’s first hurricane, Bret has struggled and should remain a mid-range tropical storm until it dissipates in a day or two in the Caribbean Sea. It should pose no severe threat to the islands besides the potential for some heavy rainfall.

This year’s list of storm names is a modified version of the same list used in 2005, 2011 and 2017. It’s one of the most notorious lists of the six lists in regular rotation with the names Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, Wilma, Irene, Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate removed due to their outsized impact to protect the mental health of survivors.

—Eric Holthaus