Weekend forecast: Friday p.m. storms, then mainly quiet
Cooler and less humid this weekend
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With 96 percent of Minnesota in drought right now, we need some rain.
At midday Friday, there were scattered thunderstorms in northwestern Minnesota and a few spotty thunderstorms in west-central Minnesota. Thunderstorms are expected to blossom over much of western Minnesota this afternoon and spread eastward later Friday afternoon and Friday evening.
Here’s the NWS depiction of thunderstorms development Friday afternoon and evening:
A few severe thunderstorms are possible Friday afternoon and evening:
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Our best chance of thunderstorms in the Twin Cities metro area will be Friday evening.
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has much of Minnesota in a slight risk (shaded yellow) of severe weather Friday afternoon and evening:

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Dry for much of Saturday and Sunday
The Friday night thunderstorms will move off to the east by sunrise on Saturday. Then most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will be dry into Sunday morning. A few scattered showers and thunderstorms could develop in western Minnesota Sunday afternoon, then spread eastward Sunday evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential rain pattern from 6 a.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday:

Weekend highs and dew points
It’ll feel like September in much of Minnesota this Saturday, with highs in the 60s north and 70s south:

Dew points will be in the comfortable 40s and 50s in Minnesota, with stickier 60s in parts of western Wisconsin:

Winds will be gusty on Saturday.
Sunday high temps will be in the 70s:

Sunday dew points will be in the 40s and 50s:

Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
