Gusty Monday, hot front arrives Friday

It must be a Monday.

Gusty winds roared through the Twin Cities area this morning as a cold front blew into town. The wind gusts came courtesy of a feisty shower band driven by a tightly wrapped low pressure spin aloft; a phenomenon meteorologists refer to as "positive vorticity advection." Try that one out at your next cocktail party.

The radar loop this morning captured the tightly wrapped spin cruising southeast along Interstate 94.

Winds gusted to 52 mph at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and at St. Paul's Holman Field.

Cooler breezes

The air is about 13 degrees cooler behind the front. We enjoyed a beautiful early (meteorological) summer Sunday with a high of 83 capped off with pretty sunset in the Twin Cities. This ... is just the best part of my job.

Today's air mass is brought to you by Canada. High pressure builds south early this week with drier skies and comfortable northwest flow. Watch the lower right corner of the map as Tropical Storm Colin swipes Florida. More on Colin after our forecast below.

High struggle to reach 70 in the Twin Cities today, with 60s over much of Minnesota. The 80s shove south to Des Moines, Iowa, and Chicago.

Dew points fall through the 50s and into the 40s as the more comfy air mass takes hold through Wednesday.

Heat wave No. 1: hot front arrives by Friday

Get ready for the first significant heat wave of the summer. We hit 92 degrees in the Twin Cities on May 6, but this looks like the first 3-4 day sustained heat wave of the summer. It likely won't be the last.

The northern edge of a heat dome builds over the central United States into Minnesota by Friday.

The sticky warm front gurgles north with tropical humidity and rising dew points Thursday. By Friday afternoon, a full on heat attack is underway as temperatures soar above the 90-degree mark.

Dew points above the "tropical" 70-degree threshold? It's looking more likely by Friday and Saturday. An air conditioning-worthy forecast this weekend for sure.

What happens when you combine temperatures in the 90s and dew points above 70 degrees? Heat index values rise above the 100-degree mark. Stinking hot?

Yup.

The "apparent temperature" could reach the ugly 100-plus degree threshold in the Twin Cities and much of the southern half of Minnesota Friday and Saturday afternoon. Feels like (mid) summer.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale Forecast System model captures the building heat wave out west pushing 90s into Minnesota later this week.

Bottom line: First sustained heat wave of 2016 arrives by Friday

• Beautiful air mass through Wednesday with highs in the 60s and 70s and comfortable dew points in the 40s.

• A strong warm front arrives Thursday with tropical humidity levels and dew points pushing toward 70 degrees.

• We could see 3-4 days at or above the 90-degree mark Friday through Monday.

• Temps may push as high as 95 degrees in the metro Saturday afternoon.

• Heat index values above 100 degrees are possible Friday and Saturday afternoon.

Hope you got the AC tuned up.

Tropical Storm Colin crosses Florida tonight

Topical Storm Colin continued to chug northward over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico overnight.

The National Hurricane Center official storm track brings Colin across north Florida tonight and into the Atlantic this week.

NOAA's 4 km NAM model simulated radar shows the forecast circulation swirl nicely as the center spins inland tonight.

Many locations in Florida and the southeast will pick up 2- to 4-inch rainfall totals. A narrow swath of 5 to 8 inches could fall from north Florida to the South Carolina Coast.

Here's the advisory language straight from NOAA's National Hurricane Center.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

----------------------

RAINFALL...Colin is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 5

inches with isolated maximum totals of 8 inches possible across the

northeastern Yucatan peninsula, western Cuba, western to northern

Florida, southeastern Georgia, and coastal areas of the Carolinas

through Tuesday.

STORM SURGE...The combination of a storm surge and the tide will

cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising

waters. The water could reach the following heights above ground if

the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide...

Indian Pass to Tampa Bay...1 to 3 ft with slightly higher amounts

possible in a few locations.

Tampa Bay south to Florida Bay...1 to 2 ft.

Localized coastal flooding and dangerous surf is possible along the

Florida east and Georgia coasts within the Tropical Storm Warning

area, as well as in the Tropical Storm Watch area along the Georgia

and South Carolina coasts.

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast.

Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge

and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For

information specific to your area, please see products issued by

your local National Weather Service forecast office.

WIND...Tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the

Gulf coast within the warning area this afternoon, and the Atlantic

coast within the warning area by early Tuesday. Tropical storm

conditions are possible along the Atlantic coast within the watch

area on Tuesday.

TORNADOES...A few tornadoes are possible today and tonight across

portions of Florida and far southern Georgia.