Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Thunderstorms return Monday night, a few isolated showers on morning commute

Agricultural benchmarks are falling with lack of rain

Overnight rain
This is the HRRR's future radar, driving in some strong-to-severe rain to northern Minnesota between 10 p.m. Monday and 4 a.m. Tuesday.
National Weather Service

The world-famous Minnesota State Fair gets underway this Thursday. Given that our average high right now is 80 degrees, the first few days of the fair will be hotter than normal. We’re talking mid-80s!

We have a ton of sunshine in place for Thursday, and by the time Bonnie Raitt performs Thursday evening, the weather should be pretty comfortable. But the final 8 p.m. sunset this year is early in the week, so her performance will likely be after dark.

While there are more clouds on Friday for Weird Al’s performance, we should be all dry until at least early Saturday.

Monday night storm chances

After a fairly quiet Monday with back-and-forth cloud cover, thunderstorms return Monday night. These begin just before midnight in far northwestern Minnesota.

There’s a Level 2 (out of 5) thunderstorm risk for hail and high winds along the Minnesota-North Dakota border and most of those storms will be around midnight. These finally start to move east in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

High temps Tuesday
Here are your high temps on Tuesday, what could be the hottest day of the week, with warmer weather advecting in on the back of the weaker front that's rolling through.
National Weather Service

There could be a few isolated showers around the morning commute timeframe of Tuesday. If these are able to survive in their weakened state, the Twin Cities could have a hint of rain around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Despite the initial clouds, the sun will come out and Tuesday should end up as the hottest (or at least hottest-feeling) day of the week. As the weak front draws nearer, winds from the south advect warmer temperatures from the big heat dome parked well to our south.

There may also be a second round of thunderstorms in the Arrowhead and northeast Minnesota on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday and Thursday are looking a little cooler. Wednesday should have a bunch of cloud cover as a modified upper level low (ULL) descends into Minnesota from out of Ontario. These often produce brief and small downpours, followed quickly by sunshine. And that can happen over and over again in one day. You’ll often see these happen in later fall.

Thursday is dry and sunny though, a pick day!

Bar chart with blue and yellow
We have some above-average warmth over the next few days, perhaps a marginal amount cooler by the middle of the week.
National Weather Service

Saturday and Sunday are tough calls. They’re still fairly warm, but both days could have a hint of rain. Saturday morning into the afternoon may even bring some downpours. For right now, those are primarily focused on southern and southwestern parts of Minnesota.

Green blob over a map of Minnesota
This shows rain at times on Saturday. The Canadian, Euro, and GFS American maps all have at least some rain both days this coming weekend.
National Weather Service