Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Intense heat, a few stronger storms through midweek

Most of Minnesota is level 1 for severe storms as temperatures surge

Early Tuesday thunderstorm complex
This is the morning storm complex fading into sunlight. The sun will take over Tuesday, leading to a hot (and in some cases, stormy) afternoon and evening.
National Weather Service

While Tuesday started out really cloudy, centering around the Twin Cities, we scrubbed away a lot of clouds from the anticipated overnight thunderstorm complex. Temperatures will skyrocket and we have a heat risk in place through the afternoon.

Perhaps it’s not a shocker that, given heat, sunshine and leftover humidity from recent rains, we develop a thunderstorm chance later Tuesday afternoon, lingering into dusk. This has some unusual storm movement, moving mostly north to south. Some storms could even veer to the southwest!

Severe weather threat for Tuesday
Most of Minnesota is at a level 1 of severe weather risk for Tuesday afternoon and evening. This is very typical for May.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Storm Prediction Center
Early Tuesday thunderstorm complex
This is the morning storm complex fading into sunlight. The sun will take over Tuesday, leading to a hot (and in some cases, stormy) afternoon and evening.
National Weather Service

It’s also a really warm day now that clouds are breaking apart after 11 a.m. We should have very similar temperatures on Wednesday afternoon, as well. We will start Wednesday with some dew and patchy fog, with the morning clouds largely burning off before noon. There should be a few less storms overall on Wednesday.

What’s pulsing these storms through for a few and creating near-critical fire danger for others? It’s all about the backdoor cold fronts this week. These tend to come off of Lake Superior this time of the year, sneaking around the 1022 mb high in central Wisconsin this week in particular. That leaves Thursday a little cooler. The humidity should be a little lower Thursday. This is a real “pick day” across Minnesota.

While the forecast is largely dry after Wednesday, this is great for farmers who need to do some planting later. We should be closer to 100 percent planting for beans and corn soon.

Friday through Sunday looks lovely with abundant sunshine and above-average high and low temperatures.