Rain, thunder and hail rumble through

The Weather Lab Doppler is lighting up today.

A wave of scattered rain and thunder rumbles northward. The broken line spawns storms that will produce some much needed downpours, lightning, thunder, and the potential for some hail and high winds. The wave of storms blew through the Twin Cities metro during the late morning and midday hours.

A few of the metro storms packed gusty winds and small hail.

'Marginal' risk

So far severe weather has been limited with this initial wave. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center paints a marginal risk across southern Minnesota today.

There is the potential for a few of the storms to reach severe criteria. (1 inch-plus diameter hail and/or 58 mph or greater wind gusts.) An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out as the storms spin northward today. Time of day and lack of surface heating is working against severe potential today.

NOAA's North American Mesoscale Forecast System 4 km resolution model paints today's wave of storms, then a break tonight and most of Thursday before a second wave moves in late Thursday night.

NOAA's NAM model is fairly generous with rainfall totals in the next 48-plus hours, with 1 inch-plus in many locations. Coverage is always spotty and uneven in summertime convective type storms. Your results may vary.

Here's the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model version of events the next few days. The sunniest days are tomorrow, Sunday and potentially Memorial Day. Brush up on those metric system skills.

The good news? Many of us will get some much needed rainfall today, and the risk of severe weather through midday is relatively low, but not zero.