Today and the rest of the week will be mostly sunny and cooler than you’d expect for the middle of August. High temps will range from the mid 70s in Sioux Falls to the low 80s across central South Dakota this afternoon. Tomorrow will actually be the warmest day of the week with high temps in the low to mid 80s. The rest of the week and the weekend will be cooler with highs only reaching the mid to upper 70s.

While most of the week will be dry, I do have a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday afternoon, Friday night and Saturday.

I know that temperatures in the 70s hardly qualify for “dog days of summer” and it could be a while before we get there. Our long-range models keep temps at or below average through most of August and then bring the real heat back by Labor Day weekend. I’ll let you know how that goes.