June preview weekend: Warm, sticky and stormy

Minnesota weekend weather is like watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster movie at high speed. The warm summery parts sail by, then all of the sudden...BAM.

Welcome to another fast-forward weather weekend in Minnesota.

Warm breezes, humidity, quiet hours, storms. Get ready for a little bit of everything this weekend.

Weather highlights this weekend

• Warmer breezes boost temperatures toward the 80-degree mark this weekend

• Humid air mass pushes in

• Dew points push past 60 degrees

• Scattered strong to severe storms possible; timing remains uncertain

• Most likely storm timing appears to be late Saturday night and Sunday

Synoptic set up

Another low pressure center winds up in the Rockies and moves into Minnesota this weekend.

When we talk about uncertainty in weather forecasting, it's often about the timing of storms. How fast do the fronts move? How much sunshine do we get? How many debris clouds left over from yesterday's storms to the west?

The best chance for waves of strong storms appears to be Saturday night into Sunday.

Partly muggy with a chance

The surface transport with this system is pulling plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. You'll feel the dew points rising Saturday, and it will feel a bit muggy by Saturday night into Sunday as dew points push past the 60-degree mark.

Here's a more detailed break down of the weekend forecast. Note the "broad brush" thunder symbols. I don't think it will rain/storm all weekend long. If we see enough sun Saturday, temperatures will push 80 and it will feel like a beautiful, even lake-worthy summer day. Storms are most likely late Saturday night -- and could redevelop Sunday.

Severe risk

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center has painted risk areas over Minnesota this weekend.

Though most of Saturday looks dry, isolated storms could pop up in the increasingly unstable air mass Saturday. I expect the most focused and intense storms to be in the eastern Dakotas Saturday afternoon, moving into western Minnesota by evening. A strong but potentially weakening line of storms could approach the Twin Cities metro area late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Sunday's action shifts east. A few severe cells may fire over the metro Sunday.

Most of the severe threat this weekend will be hail and high winds, but an isolated tornado or two is not out of the question.

The heaviest rainfall totals favor the eastern Dakotas and northwest Minnesota where multi-inch rains may come down. Most of us get another good soaking this weekend. Another dent in the fading drought.

Drying out next week

Next week will start chilly, but temperatures push 70 again by late next week. We string together a few dry days for a change.

The (still too) early look at Memorial Day weekend suggests a dry start with rain more likely Sunday.

By the way, did you know Memorial Day weekend is statistically the wettest and stormiest of the "Big 3" summer holiday weekends?

Of course you did.

That's why so many Minnesota graduation parties end up in the garage.

Keep an eye to the sky this weekend.