Lovely Wednesday; showers and storms on Thursday, Friday
Much drier air is sliding in from the northwest to bring us a fine August day on Wednesday. Dew points will continue dropping as a cold front ushers in much drier air.
Temperatures will be quite comfortable, as well. Afternoon highs should range from the mid-60s in the northwest around Hallock to the 70s across most of Minnesota and some low 80s in the south.
The Twin Cities should have a high of around 82 with a light northwest breeze of around 10 mph.
More welcome rain on its way
What we need to alleviate this drought is more rain followed by yet more rain, and it looks as though it will be coming our way soon. Scattered areas of showers and thunderstorms will break out in various areas around the state from Wednesday night well into the weekend.
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The first storms will likely develop in southwestern Minnesota Wednesday night. Look for areas of showers and storms to increase on Thursday and continue into Friday, especially across about the southern half of the state.
Rain is likely to fall hard and fast at times. There is a risk of excessive rainfall leading to possible areas of flooding in parts of central and southern Minnesota and well into Wisconsin Thursday through Thursday night.
Total rainfalls through Friday might exceed 2 inches in parts of Minnesota and much of Wisconsin. While the greatest totals in Minnesota are likely to be in the south, all of Minnesota, including the wildfire areas in the northeast, should get at least some welcome rain.
Rain at times for the weekend
The best chance of showers and storms over the weekend will probably come Saturday afternoon and evening along a cold front as it drives southeast across Minnesota. A few showers and storms are also possible on Sunday.
Lots of total rain likely
If forecast models are handling our upcoming weather decently, it does look as though the wettest region of the country by far over the next five days is likely to be the southern half of Minnesota and northern to central Wisconsin.
The expected heavy rainfall over the Gulf of Mexico is due to a tropical wave now near northwestern Colombia that is likely to intensify into a tropical cyclone over the western Gulf by Sunday.
