Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Scattered Friday thunderstorms; Sunday will be driest weekend day

Northern Minnesota would love to see some rain, but the highest rain totals in the past 24 hours have been in the southern half of Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin.

Some spots in far southern Minnesota, near the Iowa border, have tallied over 5 inches of rain since Thursday morning:

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Rainfall from 7 a.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Our official Twin Cities rainfall total, measured at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, was 2.12 inches over the past 24 hours:

We’ll see off and on showers and thunderstorms in Minnesota and western Wisconsin through Friday night.

The updated severe weather outlook from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk (shaded yellow) of severe weather through Friday night from the far southeastern corner of the Twin Cities metro area into portions of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible. An isolated severe thunderstorm is possible in the area that’s shaded dark green, which includes most of the Twin Cities metro area.

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.

Weekend rain chances?

An approaching cold front is expected to ignite some thunderstorms Saturday afternoon, with areas of thunderstorms continuing into Saturday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning:

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Simulated radar from noon Saturday to noon Sunday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Our best chance of Saturday thunderstorms in the Twin Cities may hold off until late afternoon or early evening.

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather Saturday and Saturday night in much of central and southern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin:

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Severe weather outlook Saturday and Saturday night
NWS Storm Prediction Center

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Midday update

The newest severe weather outlook from the NWS Storm Prediction Center shows an enhanced risk of severe weather Saturday and Saturday night from southwestern Minnesota through the Twin Cities metro area and on into western Wisconsin:

Enhanced risk means that numerous severe thunderstorms are possible:

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Severe weather risk categories
NWS Storm Prediction Center

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Scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm could linger slightly past sunrise on Sunday in portions of northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. It should be dry across most of Minnesota during the daylight hours of Sunday.

Weekend temps and dew points

Saturday will be warm and steamy in the southern half of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin, with highs in the 80s:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Northern Minnesota will have highs in the 70s.

Saturday dew points will be in the 70s in roughly the southern half of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Saturday 2 p.m. forecast dew points
National Weather Service

Most of Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 70s:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday dew points will be in the comfortable 50s in northern Minnesota, with somewhat sticky 60s south:

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Sunday 2 p.m. forecast dew points
National Weather Service

Tropical storm Ida

Tropical Storm Ida continues to strengthen this morning, according to the National Hurricane Center:

Reports from Air Force and NOAA reconnaissance aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast today and Ida is expected to be a hurricane when it nears western Cuba later today. Steady to rapid strengthening is expected when Ida moves over the southeastern and central Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, and Ida is expected to be a major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast.

Here’s the forecast track of Ida:

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Forecast track of Ida
NWS National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center issues tropical updates every three hours.

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.

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