Summery, with thunder north and west

It will be very summery all across Minnesota and western Wisconsin today through Sunday. Our Friday is starting out with some strong thunderstorms over northwestern Minnesota, and some could become severe.

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for northwestern Minnesota until 1 p.m.:

A slight risk of severe weather exist in northwestern Minnesota today and tonight, with a marginal risk extending over most of western Minnesota:

Midday update

Around midday, the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service reconfigured the slight risk area to cover much of central and southwestern Minnesota for this afternoon and tonight:

A marginal risk of severe weather is shown for much of northern Minnesota, and also for locations just west of the Twin Cities metro area.

Here are the risk categories used by the National Weather Service:

Thunderstorms will spread southward later today and tonight, and scattered thunderstorms will develop again on Saturday and Sunday.

Here is the forecast rainfall pattern, from this morning through noon Sunday, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System:

You can see thunderstorms blossom over central and southwestern Minnesota later this afternoon and this evening.

Most of the widespread storms stay to the west and northwest of the Twin Cities, but I wouldn't be surprised to see an isolated thunderstorm in the metro area tonight or early Saturday. Most of the scattered thunderstorms on Saturday are expected to be over northern and central Minnesota.

A cold front edges southward on Sunday, with plenty of steamy air ahead of it. The result could be some strong to severe thunderstorms Sunday afternoon and evening.

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a slight risk of severe thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday night over much of Minnesota:

The best chance of strong storms in the Twin Cities appears to be late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. Storms could become strong or severe earlier Sunday afternoon over central and northwestern Minnesota.

If you are traveling this weekend, stay aware of which county you are in, because warnings are issued by county.

Warming trend

Highs will be mainly in the 80s today in Minnesota, with some 70s to the north:

It will be summery again on Saturday:

Some spots in the Twin Cities could hit the upper 80s. It will also be humid on Saturday.

Sunday will be steamy, with many spots in southern Minnesota seeing highs in the 90s:

Dew points will rise into the upper 60s, so heat index values could be in the upper 90s Sunday afternoon over parts of southern Minnesota!

Hot, hot, hot in Phoenix

This is not a good weekend to travel to Phoenix, Arizona!

This tweet from the Phoenix office of the National Weather Service says it all:

Record highs are possible in Phoenix on Sunday and Monday.

I hope that you enjoy your Minnesota weekend!