High pressure following the cold front Friday morning has cleared out skies of clouds, precipitation, and smoke! Crystal clear skies remain in place across a large portion of the country this evening, and will stick around into Sunday!

Those clear blue skies were a welcome sight across the area this afternoon, as shown below with our SkyTrack cameras.

Clear skies continue into the night tonight, as temperatures drop down into the upper 40s with a light breeze from the North. This will be a great night to open a few windows and let in some fresh air!

The warming trend continues tomorrow as temperatures rise back into the mid and upper 70s. Bright and sunny skies continue, with very low humidity values: A perfect afternoon for any outdoor activities!

The warming trend continues into next week as well, with highs rising into the 70s and even the 80s early next week. The entire week will feature highs above normal for this time of year!

The only caveat in the entire forecast is the potential return of the smoke from Canadian wildfires. We finally cleared out the smoke we had from last week with the cold front Friday morning, but another batch of smoke may drift its way Southward into the Midwest and Central Plains. If the smoke returns, it likely will not go away soon due to the weak flow aloft in the atmosphere.

This weak flow aloft is caused by a blocking pattern keeping weather systems stagnant for multiple days on end. A very large ridge will develop in the upper levels, keeping the steering of any systems (and smoke) well to the North. This is why the smoke may linger a few days if it drifts back into the area.

The blocking pattern will not only keep smoke around, but also the clear skies! Generally high pressure sticks around throughout the week, leaving us with very little cloud cover and precipitation each day. The only disturbance that may come through would be a cold front early Wednesday. This might bring an isolated shower to the area as the front passes. Outside of that front, rain chances are all but zero for the entire week ahead.

This might be the best-looking 7-day forecast I’ve put together, with both highs in the 70s/80s and lows in the upper 40s and 50s. Those are very comfortable for this time of year! Even better, we will see plenty of sunshine the entire week ahead.