Spotty thundershowers late today; sticky and stormy late week

Monday's slow moving cold front brought heavy rain and high winds to central Minnesota and the western Twin Cities. Evening wind gusts toppled some trees near Lake Minnetonka and Long Lake in Orono.

Wake low

Monday's high winds were driven by an unusual wake low behind the thunderstorms as they moved through. High winds rush into the low-pressure area behind the passing rain storm.

Here's more on wake lows from Wikipedia.

A wake low, or wake depression, is a mesoscale low-pressure area which trails the mesoscale high following a squall line. Due to the subsiding warm air associated with the systems formation, clearing skies are associated with the wake low. Once difficult to detect in surface weather observations due to their broad spacing, the formation of mesoscale weather station networks, or mesonets, has increased their detection.

Severe weather, in the form of high winds, can be generated by the wake low when the pressure difference between the mesohigh preceding it and the wake low is intense enough.

Spotty thundershowers Tuesday

The front still hasn't cleared Minnesota. An upper-air disturbance racing toward us from Idaho may trigger a few spotty thundershowers late this afternoon and evening. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale Forecast System 3 km resolution model picks up on the trend.

Spectacular Wednesday then sticky and stormy

Wednesday looks like the best day this week. We'll enjoy low humidity and highs near 80. Heat, humidity, and storms return late this week. Highs near 90 with dew points close to 70 Saturday will feel like a sauna.

Heavy rainfall potential 

With high precipitable water values around 2  inches, we could see some potentially flooding rains again late this week.

Hurricane Bud remnants?

Moisture from Pacific hurricane Bud near Baja, Mexico, may get caught up in southwest flow aloft and enhance rainfall over Minnesota in a few days.

Stay tuned.