A Severe Thunderstorm Watch covering central and southern Minnesota counties, including Stearns.
The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch this afternoon covering a broad stretch of central and southern Minnesota, including Stearns and Sherburne counties as well as areas extending to the west and south. The watch runs through 11 p.m. Tonight.
Any storms that develop within the watch area carry the potential to become severe. The specific threats associated with this event include hail reaching up to ping-pong-ball size, wind gusts of up to 65 miles per hour, and frequent lightning. Not all storms that form will reach those thresholds, but the conditions are favorable for the strongest cells to do so.
When the risk is highest in Minnesota
The Storm Prediction Center has placed Chicago’s southwestern counties under a level two severe weather risk, while much of the broader watch area falls under a level one marginal risk designation. Storms were expected to develop in the afternoon and continue through the early evening hours, but forecasters noted that the more significant threat intensifies as an incoming weather front arrives later in the evening.
The main timing for the most active storm activity is expected to fall around 7 p.m. and continue into the overnight hours. The afternoon window carries a more limited chance of severe development, but residents within the watch area are advised not to wait until evening to prepare.
Storms during the more active evening period could move quickly and carry the combination of large hail and damaging winds that make thunderstorm events most dangerous for people caught outdoors or in vulnerable structures.
What comes after the storms
As the front pushes through the region, severe weather chances are expected to diminish on its trailing edge. Forecasters are describing the weekend ahead as starting on a sunnier and warmer note, though humidity levels are expected to remain elevated Saturday, which is typical following a frontal passage during the summer months.
Sunday brings another chance of rain as the next weather system approaches the region. The window of dry and pleasant conditions between Toay’s storms and Sunday’s rain chances is expected to fall primarily during Saturday afternoon.
What Minnesota residents should do
Residents across Stearns, Sherburne, and surrounding counties should monitor local forecasts through the evening and have a plan in place in the event that storms approach their location. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe storms to develop, not that they are guaranteed to do so in every part of the watch area.
Those spending time outdoors Today evening should keep an eye on changing conditions and move indoors at the first sign of approaching storms. Large hail and winds at 65 miles per hour can cause significant damage to vehicles, structures, and anything left outside, and the frequent lightning associated with this type of system poses an independent safety risk.
The National Weather Service will issue Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for specific areas of Minnesota as individual storms develop and their severity can be confirmed by radar. Those warnings, which are more geographically targeted than the watch currently in effect, will provide the most immediate guidance for residents in the direct path of an approaching cell.
Local emergency management in Minnesota and weather services will continue updating the forecast through the evening as storm development becomes clearer.