Storms dump baseball-size hail. Windy and much colder Wednesday.
Twin Cities hit a record high of 92 degrees Tuesday. A sharply colder air mass blows in Wednesday.
Update 11:35 pm Tuesday
Severe storm erupted Tuesday evening favoring the eastern Twin Cities and western Wisconsin.
The storms reached peak intensity as they moves into western Wisconsin.
There are numerous reports of golf ball to egg-size, to tea cup-size hail. These massive hailstones were reportedly photographed around River Falls, Wisconsin.
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Here are some select hail reports.
Lake Elmo [Washington Co, MN] PUBLIC reports HAIL of egg size (E2.00 INCH) at 20 Sep, 8:20 PM CDT -- SOCIAL MEDIA PICTURE OF HAIL LARGER THAN GOLF BALL SIZE.
1 S Woodbury [Washington Co, MN] PUBLIC reports HAIL of golf ball size (E1.75 INCH) at 20 Sep, 8:32 PM CDT -- REPORT FROM MPING: GOLF BALL (1.75 IN.).
2 SSE Hudson [St. Croix Co, WI] PUBLIC reports HAIL of ping pong ball size (M1.50 INCH) at 20 Sep, 8:35 PM CDT -- TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED 1.5 INCH HAIL 2 MILES SOUTH OF HUDSON. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
River Falls [Pierce Co, WI] PUBLIC reports HAIL of teacup size (E3.00 INCH) at 20 Sep, 8:46 PM CDT -- A SOCIAL MEDIA PICTURE OF 3 INCH HAIL IN RIVER FALLS. THERE HAS BEEN SEVERAL CALLS FROM RIVER FALLS OF BASEBALL SIZE HAIL SINCE 850 LST.
1 N River Falls [St. Croix Co, WI] PUBLIC reports HAIL of baseball size (E2.75 INCH) at 20 Sep, 8:42 PM CDT -- HAIL BETWEEN TENNIS BALL AND BASEBALL SIZE.
Cue the fall colors.
The coldest air mass in 4 months blows into Minnesota this week.
The cold front is moving through dry for most of Minnesota. But a few scattered storms may pop along the frontal zone Tuesday evening. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center paints a marginal risk for a severe storm in the eastern Twin Cities, with a slight risk across much of northwest Wisconsin.
NOAA is watching our area for a possible severe weather watch Tuesday evening.
Record high Tuesday
The Twin Cities hit 92 degrees late Tuesday afternoon. That breaks the record of 91 for September 20 last set in 1931.
I saw 97 at Windom, Worthington, and New Ulm Tuesday afternoon.
Coldest air in 4 months
Our inbound air mass brings the coldest air in 4 months to Minnesota this week. Highs will hover in the low 60s south and 50s up north by Thursday. Blue returns to the weather maps.
Lows will fall into the 40s in the Twin Cities for the first time since May 27. We could have areas of patchy frost up north this week.
Right now the weekend looks pleasant but cooler. Highs reach the low 70s Saturday, with 60s for Sunday.