Chance showers and t-storms today; mostly dry weekend
There was a downpour at my house in St. Paul this morning, and the quick one-half inch of rain was very welcome. Lawns are very thirsty over much of Minnesota.
The early morning thunderstorms missed most of the west metro, but additional showers and thunderstorms are possible today as a cold front slides through Minnesota:
Dry high pressure will spread over Minnesota and Wisconsin tonight, and it will stay with us into the weekend.
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather today and tonight for southeastern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin:
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Here are the risk categories used by the Storm Prediction Center:
11:30 a.m. update
The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service now shows a slight risk of severe weather today and tonight for portions of southeastern Minnesota and parts of southwestern Wisconsin:
A marginal risk of severe weather continues to the north of the slight risk area.
70s rule
Most Minnesotans will see highs in the 70s today, but a few spots in the south could touch 80. Highs in the 60s are expected today over far northern Minnesota.
70s will be common all across Minnesota tomorrow:
We'll also see 70s on Saturday:
Upper 70s will be common on Sunday:
Drought in part of Minnesota
Today's U.S. Drought Monitor update shows moderate drought over several counties in west-central Minnesota:
Moderate drought covers 3.35 percent of Minnesota at this time, and an additional 5.86 percent of Minnesota is abnormally dry.
After today's scattered showers and thunderstorms, we expect several dry days.
Let's hope that west-central Minnesota sees some rain today!