Spotty thunder, partly cloudy Wednesday
Rain chances increase over next 36 hours
Spotty showers and a few thunderstorms are possible Wednesday, mainly in the northern half of Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. The chances of rain expands and increases Thursday into Thursday night across most of Minnesota.
Showers mainly north Wednesday
An unsettled pattern remains over Minnesota Wednesday with the best chance of some showers and thunder for the northern half of Minnesota into northwest Wisconsin.
While an isolated shower or storm is possible in the Twin Cities, we should remain partly cloudy and overall dry. High temperatures should manage the low 80s again from the Twin Cities and points south where the drier and brighter weather will persist.
Northern lights visible Wednesday night?
A coronal mass ejection (CME) left the sun and reached earth Tuesday night. It’s a recipe for possible northern lights Wednesday night as it reacts with earth’s magnetic field, creating a geomagnetic storm. A CME doesn’t guarantee northern lights however as it has to align just right with our magnetic field.
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Peak activity looks to be Wednesday night as the KP index (used to measure activity) reaches a moderate to high level at 6 to 7 between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesday night into early Thursday.
The possible visible aurora oval could reach into Iowa and Illinois even.
Of course, we need cloud cover to cooperate as well and that might be difficult. Much of Minnesota will have cloud cover overnight Wednesday night but there could be a few, occasional breaks if you really want to stay up and try to see them.
Increase in shower activity Thursday and Friday
More widespread occasional scattered showers and thunderstorms develop late Thursday into Friday and Saturday along with quite a bit of cloud cover.
The clouds and showers will keep temperatures cooler, in just the low 70s potentially statewide Friday and Saturday. We should see more typical August weather return by Monday next week with more sunshine and highs back in the low 80s.