diff --git a/.github/actions/install-pypi/action.yml b/.github/actions/install-pypi/action.yml
index 933444ce526..54cd9fe4b05 100644
--- a/.github/actions/install-pypi/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/install-pypi/action.yml
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 name: 'Install Using PyPI'
 description: 'Setup environment and install using the PyPI-based toolchain'
 inputs:
-  need-cartopy:
-    description: 'Whether Cartopy is needed'
-    required: true
-    default: 'true'
+  need-extras:
+    description: 'Whether to install the extras'
+    required: false
+    default: 'false'
   type:
     description: 'Whether test or doc build'
     required: true
   version-file:
     description: 'Name of the version file to use for installation'
-    required: true
+    required: false
     default: 'requirements.txt'
   python-version:
     description: 'What version of Python to use'
@@ -27,31 +27,43 @@ runs:
         cache-dependency-path: |
           ci/${{ inputs.type }}_requirements.txt
           ci/${{ inputs.version-file }}
+          ci/extra_requirements.txt
 
     # This installs the stuff needed to build and install Shapely and CartoPy from source.
     - name: Install CartoPy build dependencies
-      if: ${{ inputs.need-cartopy == 'true' }}
+      if: ${{ inputs.need-extras == 'true' }}
       shell: bash
       run: sudo apt-get install libgeos-dev
 
     - name: Disable Shapely Wheels
+      if: ${{ inputs.need-extras == 'true' }}
       shell: bash
       run: echo "PIP_NO_BINARY=shapely" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-    - name: Install dependencies
+    - name: Set dependency groups for install
       shell: bash
-      run: python -m pip install -r ci/${{ inputs.type }}_requirements.txt -c ci/${{ inputs.version-file }}
+      run: |
+        if [[ ${{ inputs.need-extras }} == 'true' ]]
+        then
+          echo "DEP_GROUPS=${{ inputs.type }},extras" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        else
+          echo "DEP_GROUPS=${{ inputs.type }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        fi
 
-    - name: Install extra dependencies
-      if: ${{ inputs.need-cartopy == 'true' }}
+    - name: Install
       shell: bash
-      run: python -m pip install -r ci/extra_requirements.txt -c ci/${{ inputs.version-file }}
+      run: >
+        python -m pip install .[${{ env.DEP_GROUPS }}]
+        -c ci/${{ inputs.version-file }} -c ci/${{ inputs.type }}_requirements.txt -c ci/extra_requirements.txt
+
+    - name: Install additional test tools
+      shell: bash
+      run: >
+        python -m pip install coverage
+        -c ci/${{ inputs.version-file }} -c ci/${{ inputs.type }}_requirements.txt -c ci/extra_requirements.txt
 
     - name: Download Cartopy Maps
-      if: ${{ inputs.need-cartopy == 'true' }}
+      if: ${{ inputs.need-extras == 'true' }}
       shell: bash
       run: ci/download_cartopy_maps.py
 
-    - name: Install
-      shell: bash
-      run: python -m pip install -c ci/${{ inputs.version-file }} .
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docs.yml b/.github/workflows/docs.yml
index 1f1f431d208..a9a95b0ccfe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docs.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docs.yml
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install using PyPI
       uses: ./.github/actions/install-pypi
       with:
-        need-cartopy: true
         type: 'doc'
         python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests-pypi.yml b/.github/workflows/tests-pypi.yml
index e7a34129182..fb9ca741eff 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests-pypi.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests-pypi.yml
@@ -26,14 +26,15 @@ jobs:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         python-version: [3.9, '3.10', 3.11]
-        dep-versions: [requirements.txt]
+        dep-versions: [Latest]
         no-extras: ['']
         include:
+          - python-version: 3.9
+            dep-versions: Minimum
           - python-version: 3.9
             dep-versions: Minimum
             no-extras: 'No Extras'
           - python-version: 3.11
-            dep-versions: requirements.txt
             no-extras: 'No Extras'
 
     steps:
@@ -52,12 +53,14 @@ jobs:
         from pathlib import Path
 
         # Read our pyproject.toml
-        config = tomllib.load(open('pyproject.toml', 'rb'))
+        config = tomllib.load(open('pyproject.toml', 'rb'))['project']
+        opt_deps = config['optional-dependencies']
 
         # Generate a Minimum dependency file
-        with (Path('ci') / 'Minimum').open('wt') as out:
-          for dep in config['project']['dependencies']:
-            if dep:
+        for src, fname in [(config['dependencies'], 'requirements.txt'),
+                           (opt_deps['test'], 'test_requirements.txt'), (opt_deps['extras'], 'extra_requirements.txt')]:
+          with (Path('ci') / fname).open('wt') as out:
+            for dep in src:
               dep = dep.split(';')[0]
               out.write(dep.replace('>=', '==') + '\n')
         EOF
@@ -65,15 +68,14 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install from PyPI
       uses: ./.github/actions/install-pypi
       with:
-        need-cartopy: ${{ matrix.no-extras != 'No Extras' }}
+        need-extras: ${{ matrix.no-extras != 'No Extras' }}
         type: 'test'
-        version-file: ${{ matrix.dep-versions }}
         python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
 
     - name: Run tests
       uses: ./.github/actions/run-tests
       with:
-        run-doctests: ${{ matrix.dep-versions == 'requirements.txt' && matrix.no-extras != 'No Extras' }}
+        run-doctests: ${{ matrix.dep-versions == 'Latest' && matrix.no-extras != 'No Extras' }}
         key: pypi-${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ matrix.dep-versions }}-${{ matrix.no-extras }}-${{ runner.os }}
 
   codecov:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unstable-builds.yml b/.github/workflows/unstable-builds.yml
index f275ae51b85..c10e65da733 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unstable-builds.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unstable-builds.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install using PyPI
       uses: ./.github/actions/install-pypi
       with:
-        need-cartopy: true
+        need-extras: true
         type: test
         version-file: Prerelease
         python-version: 3.11
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install using PyPI
       uses: ./.github/actions/install-pypi
       with:
-        need-cartopy: true
         type: doc
         version-file: Prerelease
         python-version: 3.11
diff --git a/ci/extra_requirements.txt b/ci/extra_requirements.txt
index 59a88b74a77..31ba3f6dfaa 100644
--- a/ci/extra_requirements.txt
+++ b/ci/extra_requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 cartopy==0.22.0
+dask==2023.10.0
 shapely==2.0.2
diff --git a/ci/requirements.txt b/ci/requirements.txt
index 9e91f497089..f0bbe4f1a6e 100644
--- a/ci/requirements.txt
+++ b/ci/requirements.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-matplotlib==3.7.2
+matplotlib==3.8.0
 numpy==1.26.0
 pandas==2.1.1
 pooch==1.7.0
diff --git a/ci/test_requirements.txt b/ci/test_requirements.txt
index 8b7f2da0b6d..9c18f1ce1a9 100644
--- a/ci/test_requirements.txt
+++ b/ci/test_requirements.txt
@@ -3,4 +3,3 @@ pytest==7.4.2
 pytest-mpl==0.16.1
 netCDF4==1.6.4
 coverage==7.3.2
-dask==2023.10.0
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 744932f9bf8..f6b032aaee1 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ classifiers = [
 ]
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
 dependencies = [
-    "matplotlib>=3.3.0",
+    "matplotlib>=3.5.0",
     "numpy>=1.20.0",
     "pandas>=1.2.0",
     "pint>=0.15",
@@ -41,24 +41,28 @@ gini = "metpy.io.gini:GiniXarrayBackend"
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 doc = [
+    "metpy[examples]",
+    "myst-parser",
+    "netCDF4",
     "sphinx",
     "sphinx-gallery>=0.4",
-    "myst-parser",
-    "netCDF4"
+    "sphinx-design",
+    "pydata-sphinx-theme"
 ]
 examples = [
-    "cartopy>=0.17.0",
     "geopandas>=0.6.0",
-    "matplotlib>=3.3.0",
-    "shapely>=1.6.0"
+    "metpy[extras]"
 ]
 test = [
-    "packaging>=21.0",
-    "pytest>=2.4",
-    "pytest-mpl",
-    "cartopy>=0.17.0",
     "netCDF4",
-    "shapely>=1.6.0"
+    "packaging>=21.0",
+    "pytest>=6.2",
+    "pytest-mpl"
+]
+extras = [
+    "cartopy>=0.21.0",
+    "dask>=2020.12.0",
+    "shapely>=1.6.4"
 ]
 
 [project.urls]
diff --git a/src/metpy/testing.py b/src/metpy/testing.py
index 2cca9f731a7..da9416ad216 100644
--- a/src/metpy/testing.py
+++ b/src/metpy/testing.py
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
 import contextlib
 import functools
 
+import matplotlib
 import numpy as np
 import numpy.testing
+from packaging.version import Version
 from pint import DimensionalityError
 import pytest
 import xarray as xr
@@ -21,6 +23,38 @@
 from .deprecation import MetpyDeprecationWarning
 from .units import units
 
+MPL_VERSION = Version(matplotlib.__version__)
+
+
+def mpl_version_before(ver):
+    """Return whether the active matplotlib is before a certain version.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    ver : str
+        The version string for a certain release
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+        bool : whether the current version was released before the passed in one
+    """
+    return MPL_VERSION < Version(ver)
+
+
+def mpl_version_equal(ver):
+    """Return whether the active matplotlib is equal to a certain version.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    ver : str
+        The version string for a certain release
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+        bool : whether the current version is equal to the passed in one
+    """
+    return MPL_VERSION == Version(ver)
+
 
 def needs_module(module):
     """Decorate a test function or fixture as requiring a module.
diff --git a/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_convert_units.png b/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_convert_units.png
index 1f1112a3adb..9674f0bc63d 100644
Binary files a/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_convert_units.png and b/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_convert_units.png differ
diff --git a/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_options.png b/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_options.png
index d98911f174e..9c819ce0f67 100644
Binary files a/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_options.png and b/tests/plots/baseline/test_declarative_contour_options.png differ
diff --git a/tests/plots/test_declarative.py b/tests/plots/test_declarative.py
index 8e15c694497..aa4e871cd45 100644
--- a/tests/plots/test_declarative.py
+++ b/tests/plots/test_declarative.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 from metpy.io.metar import parse_metar_file
 from metpy.plots import (ArrowPlot, BarbPlot, ContourPlot, FilledContourPlot, ImagePlot,
                          MapPanel, PanelContainer, PlotGeometry, PlotObs, RasterPlot)
-from metpy.testing import needs_cartopy
+from metpy.testing import mpl_version_before, needs_cartopy
 from metpy.units import units
 
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ def test_declarative_titles():
     return pc.figure
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.069)
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.072)
 @needs_cartopy
 def test_declarative_smooth_contour():
     """Test making a contour plot using smooth_contour."""
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ def test_declarative_smooth_contour():
     return pc.figure
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.09)
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.12)
 @needs_cartopy
 def test_declarative_smooth_contour_calculation():
     """Test making a contour plot using smooth_contour."""
@@ -334,7 +334,8 @@ def test_declarative_contour_cam():
     return pc.figure
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.036)
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True,
+                               tolerance=3.71 if mpl_version_before('3.8') else 0.026)
 @needs_cartopy
 def test_declarative_contour_options():
     """Test making a contour plot."""
@@ -394,7 +395,8 @@ def test_declarative_layers_plot_options():
     return pc.figure
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, tolerance=0.025)
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True,
+                               tolerance=2.74 if mpl_version_before('3.8') else 0.014)
 @needs_cartopy
 def test_declarative_contour_convert_units():
     """Test making a contour plot."""
diff --git a/tests/plots/test_skewt.py b/tests/plots/test_skewt.py
index 1fa5cad4bd6..ab5d5c14933 100644
--- a/tests/plots/test_skewt.py
+++ b/tests/plots/test_skewt.py
@@ -11,10 +11,9 @@
 import pytest
 
 from metpy.plots import Hodograph, SkewT
+from metpy.testing import mpl_version_before, mpl_version_equal
 from metpy.units import units
 
-MPL_VERSION = matplotlib.__version__[:5]
-
 
 @pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True, style='default', tolerance=0.069)
 def test_skewt_api():
@@ -86,7 +85,7 @@ def test_skewt_default_aspect_empty():
 @pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance=0., remove_text=True, style='default')
 def test_skewt_mixing_line_args():
     """Test plot_mixing_lines accepting kwargs for mixing ratio and pressure levels."""
-    # Explicitly pass default values as kwargs the, should recreate NWS SkewT PDF as above
+    # Explicitly pass default values as kwargs, should recreate NWS SkewT PDF as above
     fig = plt.figure(figsize=(12, 9))
     skew = SkewT(fig, rotation=43)
     mlines = np.array([0.0004, 0.001, 0.002, 0.004, 0.007, 0.01, 0.016, 0.024, 0.032])
@@ -156,8 +155,8 @@ def test_skewt_units():
     skew.ax.axvline(-10, color='orange')
 
     # On Matplotlib <= 3.6, ax[hv]line() doesn't trigger unit labels
-    assert skew.ax.get_xlabel() == ('degree_Celsius' if MPL_VERSION == '3.7.0' else '')
-    assert skew.ax.get_ylabel() == ('hectopascal' if MPL_VERSION == '3.7.0' else '')
+    assert skew.ax.get_xlabel() == ('degree_Celsius' if mpl_version_equal('3.7.0') else '')
+    assert skew.ax.get_ylabel() == ('hectopascal' if mpl_version_equal('3.7.0') else '')
 
     # Clear them for the image test
     skew.ax.set_xlabel('')
@@ -320,7 +319,7 @@ def test_hodograph_api():
 
 
 @pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(remove_text=True,
-                               tolerance=0.6 if MPL_VERSION.startswith('3.3') else 0.)
+                               tolerance=0.6 if mpl_version_before('3.5') else 0.)
 def test_hodograph_units():
     """Test passing quantities to Hodograph."""
     fig = plt.figure(figsize=(9, 9))
diff --git a/tests/plots/test_util.py b/tests/plots/test_util.py
index 3dab3dcd868..2f973c4f0d1 100644
--- a/tests/plots/test_util.py
+++ b/tests/plots/test_util.py
@@ -5,16 +5,13 @@
 
 from datetime import datetime
 
-import matplotlib
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
 import xarray as xr
 
 from metpy.plots import add_metpy_logo, add_timestamp, add_unidata_logo, convert_gempak_color
-from metpy.testing import get_test_data
-
-MPL_VERSION = matplotlib.__version__[:3]
+from metpy.testing import get_test_data, mpl_version_before
 
 
 @pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance=2.638, remove_text=True)
@@ -94,7 +91,7 @@ def test_add_logo_invalid_size():
         add_metpy_logo(fig, size='jumbo')
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance={'3.3': 1.072}.get(MPL_VERSION, 0),
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance=1.072 if mpl_version_before('3.5') else 0,
                                remove_text=True)
 def test_gempak_color_image_compare():
     """Test creating a plot with all the GEMPAK colors."""
@@ -114,7 +111,7 @@ def test_gempak_color_image_compare():
     return fig
 
 
-@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance={'3.3': 1.215}.get(MPL_VERSION, 0),
+@pytest.mark.mpl_image_compare(tolerance=1.215 if mpl_version_before('3.5') else 0,
                                remove_text=True)
 def test_gempak_color_xw_image_compare():
     """Test creating a plot with all the GEMPAK colors using xw style."""