THE HEAT IS ON!

Warm air surged into the Midwest on Friday and brought the warmest temperatures in over two weeks to much of the area.

On top of that... humidity crept up and brought the muggies back -

This is all thanks to a big ol ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere. At the surface, a warm front lifted north across the state of Iowa today and moisture surged in from the south.

When dew points climb above 60 degrees you start to feel the air. Very summer-like! And it continues. Temperatures will remain in the 80s across much of the Midwest and dew points will hover near 70 in the afternoon. Check out the highs and dew points on Saturday afternoon -

A cold front will move through the Upper Midwest late Saturday afternoon and may spark a few showers and thunderstorms.

The greatest forcing and instability will be in the far north in the Upper Great Lakes region -

Further down to the south it will be unstable but the atmosphere will likely be capped and limit thunderstorm activity. The front will lead to slightly lower humidity levels Sunday afternoon though.

It will still be a pretty warm day with temperatures remaining well above normal.

The heat is on this weekend... enjoy!

RK