A steamy Sunday, with PM storms possible; hot on Monday too

The Saturday afternoon high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 87 degrees, which is three degrees above average.  It definitely felt summery, with dew point temperatures in the lower 60s.

Our Sunday weather will be downright steamy.

Temperature trends 

Sunday highs will be in the 80s over most of northern and central Minnesota, with 90 or lower 90s in the Twin Cities metro area and southern Minnesota:

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Dew points are expected to reach the low to mid 70s Sunday afternoon in approximately the southern half of Minnesota, plus parts of western Wisconsin.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for the Twin Cities metro area that begins Sunday afternoon and runs through Monday evening:

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Details of the excessive heat watch:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

217 PM CDT Sat Jul 13 2019

MNZ060>063-068>070-140330-

/O.CON.KMPX.EH.A.0002.190714T1800Z-190716T0300Z/

Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Carver-Scott-Dakota-

Including the cities of Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater,

Chaska, Shakopee, and Hastings

217 PM CDT Sat Jul 13 2019

...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON

THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...

* TEMPERATURE...Highs in the lower 90s and dew points in the low

to mid 70s could make for heat indices around 100 Sunday and

between 100 and 105 Monday. Low temperatures Sunday night

should only fall into the mid 70s, providing little relief

from the heat.

* IMPACTS...The high heat indices during the day will lead to

increased risk for heat-related illness for those active

outdoors or with limited access to air conditioning.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

An Excessive Heat Watch means that a prolonged period of hot

temperatures is expected. The combination of hot temperatures and

high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in

which heat illnesses are possible. Drink plenty of fluids...stay

in an air-conditioned room...stay out of the sun...and check up

on relatives and neighbors.

Monday highs reach the 90s in most of central and southern Minnesota plus parts of Wisconsin:

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Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 90s Monday, followed by upper 80s Tuesday through Friday.

Thunderstorm chances

Southwestern Minnesota will see areas of thunderstorms Saturday evening and overnight Saturday night. Some thunderstorms could move into south-central Minnesota as well.

The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a marginal risk of severe weather this Saturday evening and overnight Saturday night for portions of southwestern and south-central Minnesota:

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There could be a few isolated showers/t-storms elsewhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin overnight Saturday night or early Sunday.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

You can see the recent local NWS radar loop here. The recent radar loop for southwestern Minnesota can be found here, and the southeastern Minnesota loop here.

Some showers and thunderstorms are expected to form in parts of northern and central Minnesota Sunday afternoon, then moving southeastward.  Thunderstorms could arrive in the Twin Cities metro area and west-central Wisconsin late Sunday afternoon or early Sunday evening.

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

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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. It’ll rain in some areas that look dry in the NAM model, but the loop shows the general rain pattern as it develops and spreads southeastward.  Check forecast updates.

The Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service shows a slight risk of severe weather for much of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin Sunday and Sunday night, which means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible. Here are local details, from the NWS:

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Barry update

Hurricane Barry made landfall in Louisiana Saturday afternoon:

Barry weakened to tropical storm strength shortly after landfall, but it will still bring heavy rains to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas Saturday night and Sunday.  This Saturday afternoon flash flooding update was posted by the NWS:

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Details of Barry's impact:

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Here's some flooding video, via WeatherNation:

This is Barry’s projected track, along with the cone of uncertainty related to that track:

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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.