Bright and pleasant Saturday, thunderstorms tonight

We'll enjoy a very nice July day over most of Minnesota, with plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures.

Highs will be in the lower 80s over southern Minnesota, with 70s to the north:

Some spots in the Twin Cities could warm to about 83 degrees this afternoon.

Sunday will be a bit warmer:

Strong to severe thunderstorms tonight

An approaching low-pressure system will ignite some thunderstorms over the Dakotas today, and those thunderstorms could arrive in western Minnesota this evening:

In the Twin Cities, thunderstorms could arrive anytime after about midnight, and the thunderstorm threat stays with us into the early morning hours of Sunday.

Minnesota could see some severe thunderstorms later this evening and overnight. The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a slight risk of severe weather through tonight for most of central and southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area:

Here are the risk categories that are use by the Storm Prediction Center:

Some areas could receive heavy rainfall overnight, so there is a potential for flooding. Be extra alert to possible flooding if you live in a low spot, or are near a river, creek or stream.

Minnesota Public Radio will keep you updated on any weather warnings, and you can use NOAA weather radio to wake you up if warnings are issued overnight.

Hot and steamy Wednesday though Friday

A hot ridge of high pressure builds over the upper Midwest by Wednesday. Highs will be in the mid to upper 90s over much of Minnesota on Wednesday and Thursday, and some spots could even hit 100 degrees on Thursday:

Heat index values over 100 degrees are expected over much of central and southern Minnesota on Wednesday and Thursday. Many spots will see the heat linger into Friday.

Programming note

You can hear live weather updates at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday on Minnesota Public Radio.