Steamy through Friday; heat advisory for metro, southern MN, western WI
Thunderstorm chances, with a severe storm possible
Many of us woke to thunder Thursday morning. Some people in the southern part of the Twin Cities metro area also heard large hail hitting their roofs and cars between about 4:20 and 4:40 a.m.
There was a report of 2-inch diameter hail at 4:35 a.m. near Burnsville. A few minutes earlier, there was a report of 1.75-inch diameter hail near Prior Lake and 1.25-inch diameter hail in Savage.
This hail damage pic is from Burnsville:
Some hail pics from Prior Lake:
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Thunder chances
We could see some very scattered showers and thunderstorms Thursday in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with our thunderstorm chances increasing Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather Thursday and Thursday night for the Twin Cities metro area, plus much of southern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin.
Here is additional severe weather outlook info, via the Twin Cities office of the NWS:
We could also have some thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Friday afternoon through Friday evening:
Steamy
Highs will reach 90 or a bit above 90 Thursday afternoon in much of southern Minnesota, the Twin Cities metro area and parts of western Wisconsin.
Dew points will be in the 70s in many locations, pushing peak heat indexes to the 95 to 100 degree range.
A heat advisory includes much of southern Minnesota, plus the Twin Cities metro area and portions of western Wisconsin from noon Thursday through 7 p.m. on Friday:
Stay hydrated. Relief from the heat and humidity arrives this weekend.
Here are Saturday highs:
And Sunday highs:
Metro area highs will be in the comfortable lower 80s for Monday through Wednesday of next week.
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.