NWS team surveys storm damage; blustery Friday, nicer this weekend

The Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service has set up a page where they will post information about Thursday's tornadoes:

As of 800 AM, Friday, September 21, 2018, damage survey teams from the NWS were in the process of surveying areas of damage across the area impacted by the storms.

Radar data and spotter reports indicated that a few tornadoes likely occurred with the storms, and survey teams will make the final determination as to if, when, and where tornadoes occurred. This page will be updated as new information is received.

Here's a preliminary listing of tornado reports posted by the NWS Storm Prediction Center:

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NWS Storm Prediction Center

Times listed are in Universal time, which is five hours ahead of CDT.  For instance, 2252 converts to 1752, which is 5:52 p.m. CDT.

This Thursday evening tornado video from Granada, Minnesota is impressive:

There was also wind damage in Waterville, Minn., in Le Sueur County, that will be surveyed by the NWS Friday.

Most of the Twin Cities metro area saw strong straight-line winds and torrential rains as the storms moved through, and there were many reports of street flooding:

Thankfully, no fatalities have been reported from Thursday's storms.

By the way, a new rainfall record was set for Sept. 20 in the Twin Cities:

Temperature trends

Our Twin Cities high for Friday has already happened, it was 65 degrees around 1 a.m. at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Our high temp during the daylight hours of Friday is expected to be in the upper 50s.

Daytime highs in the 50s will be common across Minnesota, and it'll be windy until late Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, most of Minnesota will reach the 60s:

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Sunday highs will range from the 50s in far northern Minnesota to the lower 70s in the south:

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A few spots in the Twin Cities metro area could top 70 degrees.

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 69 degrees by this weekend.

Twin Cities high temps are projected to reach the lower 70s on Monday, followed by middle 60s Tuesday and Wednesday.

Weekend shower chance north

Far northern Minnesota could see occasional showers Saturday afternoon and on Sunday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern Saturday morning through Sunday evening:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar from Saturday morning through Sunday evening, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain.

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and updates are also posted on the MPR News live weather blog.

Fall colors

Even though astronomical autumn doesn’t arrive until Saturday, fall colors are appearing in parts of Minnesota.

The fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shows significant fall color in parts of northern Minnesota:

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Minnesota DNR

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.