Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Steamy with some storm chances, especially Friday night into Saturday

Friday could bring triple-digit heat indices

fr index 715
Forecast highs and heat indices Friday afternoon
National Weather Service

Dew points will be in the humid 70s Thursday and Friday. Heat indices could reach the triple digits Friday. Isolated to spotty storms are possible with the best chances Friday night into Saturday. 

Steamy Thursday and Friday with storm chances ahead 

It’ll be warmer and more humid Thursday. We’ll see partly cloudy skies with highs well into the 80s pretty much statewide with the exception of the North Shore. The heat index will be into the 90s across southern and western Minnesota.

thu 715
Forecast highs Thursday
National Weather Service

Friday will be even hotter with highs near 90 degrees and afternoon heat indices in the 95 to 105 range across southern Minnesota.

fr index 715
Forecast highs and heat indices Friday afternoon
National Weather Service

There will be some isolated to spotty thunder chances Thursday mainly in southeast and northwest Minnesota midday into the afternoon and evening.

thu 918
Forecast simulated radar 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Thursday
NOAA via pivotal weather

Overnight Thursday night storms will develop in the Dakotas and track east. There are two possible scenarios for the late Thursday night/early Friday storms. One, is a northerly track:

RRFS
Forecast simulated radar 11 p.m. Thursday through 1 p.m. Friday from NOAA's rapid refresh forecast system (RRFS) model
NOAA via pivotal weather

Most forecast models keep storms north, but some models are a bit more south, taking thunderstorms into central Minnesota late Thursday night into early Friday:

thu nt 1
Forecast simulated radar 11 p.m. Thursday through 11 a.m. Friday from NOAA's North American Model (NAM)
NOAA via pivotal weather

The best chances of widespread, scattered storms will come Friday night into Saturday morning ahead of a weak cool front. These storms, and the Thursday night storms could produce some high wind gusts and large hail along with some localized heavy rainfall:

fri nt - sat
Simulated radar 3 p.m. Friday through 9 a.m. Saturday
NOAA via pivotal weather

Storms that develop could become strong to severe in portions of Minnesota Thursday night and also Friday night into Saturday morning. 

spc 3
Severe weather outlook for the next few days
NOAA via pivotal weather

It will be slightly cooler and slightly less humid behind the front Sunday into early next week.