A cold front breaks the heat for much of Minnesota Friday

A cold front moving across Minnesota is bringing showers and storms, but also cooler and much drier air.

Friday’s forecast

Minnesota is having its final warm and muggy morning of this current heat wave, with high humidity and morning lows predominantly in the 60s and 70s.

A storm system and associated cold front will make its way west to east across the state during the day, bringing showers and storms along with it. As of 7 a.m., the associated line of storms is in western Minnesota, bringing a few stronger storms with a risk for damaging winds.

However, the line is breaking up as it heads east, and severe weather chances become much more remote as the line falls apart. Although the storms brought some isolated rain totals over an inch in western Minnesota as they passed through, by the time the activity reaches central and eastern Minnesota, any showers and thunderstorms become far more isolated. Those parts of the state will mostly see under one-tenth of an inch of desperately needed precipitation, given Minnesota’s very dry recent weather.

The front going through also causes a large temperature contrast throughout the state by the afternoon. The North Shore will be the chilly spot, with winds off Lake Superior keeping highs near 60. Where the front goes through earlier, in northern and western Minnesota, the recent heat breaks, with 70s and 80s expected. 

Southeastern Minnesota does not see the front clear through until the evening, making Friday another hot, humid day with some lingering 90s. By Saturday, all of Minnesota will see the slightly cooler air and much drier, less humid conditions. 

That extended forecast will be updated around 9:30 a.m.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.