The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for Albert Lea and much of the Upper Midwest. The heat watch for the area of southern Minnesota begins Saturday afternoon and extends through Wednesday. The heat index could exceed 105 several afternoons in a row, forecasters are saying.

“The combination of hot temperature and high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely,” the National Weather Services says.

It urges people to drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun and stay in air-conditioned rooms. It asks that people check on relatives and neighbors.

The weather service forecasts a high of 88 for Saturday and 92 for Sunday.