Scattered showers and storms overnight and Friday

You might need an umbrella before we get to the weekend.

Minnesota will see some periods of scattered showers and thunderstorms from Thursday evening through Friday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain pattern:

It'll probably rain in some areas that look dry on the loop, but the simulated radar shows the scattered nature of the rain activity.

By the way, 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.

Severe weather outlook

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a marginal risk of severe weather in southwestern and south-central Minnesota Thursday evening and overnight Thursday night:

Marginal risk means that an isolated severe thunderstorm is possible.

On Friday, the Storm Prediction Center shows general (non-severe) thunderstorms for Minnesota:

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you can read about any watches and warnings in the MPR News live weather blog.

Weekend outlook

Scattered showers and an isolated thunderstorm are possible in Minnesota late Saturday into very early on Sunday, but most of the weekend will be dry.

Saturday highs will be mostly in the 70s, with some 60s in the far north:

We'll have a lot of 70s on Sunday, with some lower 80s in the south:

By the way, the Fourth of July should be dry over most of Minnesota, with many spots topping 80 degrees:

Parts of northeastern Minnesota will see high in the 70s.

Pierce county tornado was an EF-1

The National Weather Service has completed their damage survey of the tornado that touched down in Pierce county, Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon.

It was an EF-1 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado intensity, and had an estimated maximum wind of 105 miles per hour:

       Public Information Statement

• National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 206 PM CDT Thu Jun 29 2017...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR THE MARTELL/SPRING VALLEY, WI 6/28/17 TORNADO EVENT....OVERVIEW....TORNADO #1...Rating: EF-1 Estimated peak wind: 105 mph Path length /Statute/: 11.7 miles Path width /Maximum/: 700 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 1Start date: June 28, 2017 Start time: 425 PM CDT Start location: 6 miles north of Ellsworth, WI Start Lat/Lon: 44.8244 / -92.4892End date: June 28, 2017 End time: 449 PM CDT End location:  2 miles south southwest of Spring Valley, WI End lat/lon: 44.8201 / -92.2577 A tornado quickly spun up 6 miles north of Ellsworth and produced damage mainly in the form of uprooted trees and snapped trunks as it tracked east across northeastern Pierce county. The tornado dissipated near a location 2 miles south southwest of Spring Valley. Several homes sustained mainly roof damage, but a truck slid out of a garage and flipped onto its side at one location. Several farm outbuildings or barns were significantly damaged or destroyed. One injury was reported. EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale Classifies Tornadoes into the following categories. EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph EF4...Violent...166 To 200 mph EF5...Violent...>200 mph NOTE: The information in this statement is PRELIMINARY and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS Storm Data.

Olmsted county saw two EF-0 tornadoes   The La Crosse, Wis., office of the NWS reports that two weak EF-0 tornadoes touched down briefly in Minnesota's Olmsted county Wednesday evening. No injuries were reported with either of the tornadoes. No damage was reported from the tornado near Viola, Minn., at 6:22 p.m. CDT Wednesday, and minor tree damage was reported near Chester, Minn., from a tornado that touched down at 7:07 p.m. CDT Wednesday. Both tornadoes had estimated max wind speeds of 65 mph.