There is heat and there is lightning, but there is no such thing as "heat lightning." Heat doesn't trigger lightning — thunderstorms do. "But, Paul, I saw a wild display of lightning a few nights ago without any thunder!" It's hard to hear thunder from a storm more than 10 to 15 miles away, give or take. But some nights it's possible to see lightning flashes from storms 100 to 200 miles over the horizon. What some call heat lightning is merely a distant thunderstorm that is much too far away to hear the thunder.
I'm pretty jazzed because Thursday will be the third dry day in a row for most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with lukewarm temperatures and low humidity (dew points in the 50s).
Thunderstorms later Thursday night into midday Friday may drop ¼ to a ½ inch of rain on some towns, with very little risk of additional flash flooding. Skies brighten Friday afternoon, with cool sunshine this weekend. Winds Saturday gust to 30 mph with a few whitecaps on your favorite lake.
Weather models predict hazy sun and low 80s on the Fourth of July. Yes, please.