The second cold front of the week will push warm, moist air ahead of it, producing strong to severe storms later Thursday. Behind the front, comfortable, cooler air will flow into Friday.

Very warm, humid Thursday, with heavy to severe storms ahead

The second cold front of the week is pushing warm, moist air forward for Thursday. We’ll see afternoon temperatures in the upper 80s across southern Minnesota. Dew points will also be quite humid, reaching into the low 70s across southern Minnesota.

Thursday morning thunderstorms will largely dissipate by noon, leaving a mix of clouds and sun. As it warms up, we will see thunderstorms develop by mid-afternoon ahead of the front that extends from south to north across western Minnesota. Those storms will move eastward during the late afternoon and evening hours.

Storms that develop could become strong to severe with damaging winds and large hail. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. There is a slight risk (level 2 of 5) of severe storms forecast for central and southern Minnesota.

While we could see a few isolated tornadoes, the bigger threats will come from damaging winds and large hail. Here’s a look at one forecast model’s wind gust projection through midnight:

Behind the front, the northwesterly wind blows cooler and much drier air, making for a beautiful Friday and a long weekend. The moist air moves east with dew points of 50 degrees for Friday.

On Friday, temperatures will be between 25 and 27 degrees Celsius, with dew points in the 10s.

A third cool front will move in — relatively quietly — Saturday night, bringing temperatures down even further. Highs Sunday and Monday will range from the low 60s in northern Minnesota to the low to mid 70s in the south. The weather will remain mostly dry into next week.