Cooler and less humid; Saturday is better weekend day
The Twin Cities metro area didn't see any severe weather Thursday evening, but there were several reports of large hail in western Wisconsin.
The largest hail reports that I saw Thursday evening were in Trempealeau, Wis., which is about 12 miles east-southeast of Winona, Minn.:
The first column is the time, which is five hours ahead of Central Daily Time. So, 0053 in the left hand column indicates 7:53 p.m. CDT for the first highlighted report, which was 3-inch diameter hail.
Two reports of 2.75 inch diameter (baseball size) hail followed.
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A quiet Friday for most
Most of Minnesota will have a very nice Friday.
Scattered showers and possibly a few thunderstorms will move through northeastern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin.
The eastern part of the Twin Cities metro area could see an isolated shower late in the afternoon.
The severe weather outlook from the Storm Prediction Center of the NWS indicates that any thunderstorms in Minnesota will be non-severe today and tonight:
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Noon update:
In their midday update, the Storm Prediction Center shows a marginal risk of severe weather this afternoon and tonight in western Wisconsin:
A marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible.
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Downpours early Thursday
Overnight Wednesday night into early Thursday, heavy rain fell in parts of Aitkin, Kanabec and Pine counties, which caused some areas of flooding.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's analysis shows that some spots saw more than three inches of rain:
There were also some reports of large hail, including this one of 2.50 inch diameter hail near McGrath at 1:30 a.m. Thursday:
Dry in Twin Cities
Some parts of the Twin Cities metro area have seen a bit of rain this month, but hardly any rain has fallen in the official rain gauge at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport:
They've measured only 1/100th of an inch at MSP airport.
We typically see about four inches of rain in the Twin Cities during the month of July.
Sunday shower chance
Saturday is looking dry, then some showers and a few thunderstorms could move across Minnesota on Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern:
The showers could linger into Monday morning in eastern Minnesota.
Back to normal
Gone are the 90s.
Much of Minnesota will see highs in the 70s this Friday afternoon, with some lower 80s in the south.
On Saturday, temps will reach the 80s in most of Minnesota, with some 70s northeast:
On Sunday, we're expecting 70s in the north with 80s in central and southern Minnesota:
Our average high this time of year is 84 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.
Sometimes "average" is outstanding, when you're talking about summer weather in Minnesota!