Warm Wednesday To Bring Afternoon Storms, Significant Tornado Threat For Wisconsin
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Warm air surging up from the plains Wednesday will bring temperatures in Minnesota into the 70s before clashing with a cold front in the afternoon, creating the possibility for severe storms. Weather officials also expect the dynamic to create a significant tornado threat for northern Wisconsin.
Meteorologist Matt Brickman says the severe weather threats for Minnesota include damaging winds and large hail for the southeastern part of the state and smaller hail for the Twin Cities metro.
The biggest severe weather threat associated with Wednesday's storms is for northern Wisconsin. The National Weather Service has issued an enhanced risk of severe weather there, and some communities in western Wisconsin, such as Eau Claire, are at the edge of the tornado risk area.
Weeks ago, when southern Minnesota was under the same threat level, more than a dozen tornadoes touched down, damaging homes, flattening farm equipment and up-rooting trees. No one was hurt.
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Before the storms spark up Wednesday, temperatures and dew points in Minnesota will climb throughout the day. The warm air from the remnants of Hurricane Rosa will bring temperatures across the state into the 70s. Some communities to the south could even see the mercury inch toward 80 degrees.
Around lunch time, a line of storms is slated to wash over the Twin Cities, soaking the metro in the early afternoon hours. Later, in the early evening, a cold front is expected to collide with the warm air over southern Minnesota, bringing a greater risk of severe weather to the Twin Cities and southeastern Minnesota.
After the storms push out of the state Wednesday night, temperatures will plummet. Some Minnesota communities could see a 40-degree drop between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
For the rest of the week, temperatures will be stuck in the 50s, below average for this time of year. A warm-up looks to be in store for next week, as do more chances for rain.
Things aren't going to get any drier anytime soon. Several more inches of rain are expected through the middle of next week #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/e3Cg8QQ03o
— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) October 3, 2018