Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Thunderstorm chance in some areas Wednesday; cool, dry Thursday

Scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday

A wind-shift-line and trailing cold front will move through eastern and southern Minnesota Wednesday afternoon/early evening. Some thunderstorms are expected to develop along and ahead of the wind-shift-line and cold front in parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The Twin Cities metro area could see a thunderstorm or two Wednesday afternoon, but one forecast model shows the thunderstorms developing to the south and east of the metro, mainly in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We’ll see how it all plays out.

Stay sky aware Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather Wednesday and Wednesday night for southeastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin, as well as the eastern part of the Twin Cities metro area:

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Severe weather outlook for Wednesday through Wednesday night
NWS Storm Prediction Center

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

You can see the recent local National Weather Service radar loop here. The northeastern Minnesota radar loop and the northwestern Minnesota radar loop are also available. The recent radar loop for southeastern Minnesota can be found here, and the southwestern Minnesota loop here.

The best chance of occasional showers and thunderstorms this weekend will be on Saturday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday through Saturday evening:

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NOAA GFS model precipitation rate Saturday through Saturday evening
Tropicaltidbits.com

The Saturday rain may very well be a bit more scattered than what is shown in the GFS loop.

Temperature trends

Most of northern Minnesota will see highs in the 70s this Wednesday afternoon, with 80s in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Thursday highs will be in the 70s in most areas:

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Thursday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Friday will feature highs in the 70s north and lower 80s in parts of the south:

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Friday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 80 on Saturday, followed by lower 80s Sunday.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center shows a tendency toward cooler than normal temperatures in Minnesota next week:

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Temperature outlook Aug. 12-16
NWS Climate Prediction Center

A few degrees below normal can still feel pretty good in early August.