Cool Thursday, steamy Friday; thunder at times this weekend
It felt a bit chilly as we stepped outside Thursday morning. Our low temperature was 57 degrees this morning at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It was our coolest official Twin Cities low temp since June 4.
Parts of northern Minnesota saw much colder lows this morning, with lots of 40s and some 30s too.
Check this out:
It shattered Minnesota's previous Aug. 2 record low temp of 41 degrees in International Falls.
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Warmer weather is on the way for Friday.
Temperature trends
Most of Minnesota will have highs in the 70s Thursday afternoon, with some 60s along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
We're expecting highs in the 80s on Friday, with some 70s northeast:
Dew points are expected to rise into the steamy upper 60s in southern and central Minnesota Friday afternoon.
Saturday high temps will be mostly in the 80s, with some 70s northeast:
Most of Minnesota will also see highs in the 80s on Sunday. Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to be in the upper 80s on Friday, followed by low to mid 80s Saturday and mid 80s on Sunday.
Rain chances
A few scattered showers and thunderstorms could develop in Minnesota on Friday, but the Twin Cities metro area might stay dry until Friday evening.
Off and on showers and thunderstorms are a good bet for much of Minnesota Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night.
By Sunday, the best chance of off and on showers and thunderstorms may be in about the southeastern half of Minnesota.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday and Saturday evening:
It’ll rain in some spots that look dry on the loop, but the NAM model illustrates the general rain pattern.
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain.
Severe weather outlook
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather in much of northern and central Minnesota Friday and Friday night:
Marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible.
The marginal risk area spreads southward to include southwestern Minnesota and parts of the Twin Cities metro area for Saturday and Saturday night:
This will be a good weekend to keep track of what county you're in if you're traveling in Minnesota, since any warnings will mention counties.
Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and updates are also posted on the MPR News live weather blog.
Pacific hurricane
If a Hawaiian trip is in your plans for next week:
Hector is now a hurricane:
You can check with the National Hurricane Center for the latest info on Hurricane Hector.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.