Scattered showers move in, severe storms likely Monday, remaining mild next week

Happy Saturday everyone!

The weather has been beautiful across the area today! We’ve had uninterrupted sunshine, high temperatures climbing to around 60F, and a lighter southeasterly breeze. This is all thanks to an area of high pressure, currently situated over northern Wisconsin.

Heading into tonight, this are of high pressure works eastward away from us. As it does so, we enter the influence of strong transport of southerly air northward overnight. High dew points surging north off to the west will aid in increasing cloud cover across the area, as well as bringing the chance for showers into the area.

This will not be a significant rain maker by any means, and even better, showers look to clear the area by mid morning on Sunday! Low temperatures dip into the low to mid 40F’s, which is right near where we should be for this time of year.

Sunday will be slightly warmer, but cloud cover will keep a lid on temperatures across the area. Highs will be in the mid 60F’s, with southeasterly winds ramping up into the 10 to 20 mph range, gusting up to 30 mph at times. There will be a few peaks of sun, but there will far more clouds around than today.

The weather turns interesting to say the least Sunday night into Monday. There is a lot to talk about, and I will break down the details that we know at this time as best as I can below:

An area of low pressure begins to develop and deepen as it tracks eastward across the northern Plains Sunday night into Monday. A warm front extended ahead of the low pressure will pass through Southeastern Minnesota and Northern Iowa late Sunday night into Monday morning.

As the warm front passes through, elevated showers and thunderstorms will develop along the front. There is an increasing risk for severe thunderstorms during this time frame. Because the storms will be elevated in nature, the primary concerns with these storms will be large hail and damaging winds.

Storms may continue into the mid morning hours across the area Monday, but will exit as the warm front pushes northeast. Warm, humid air from the Southern Plains will then enter the region, resulting in highs temperatures climbing well into the 70F’s Monday afternoon, with dew points in the 60F’s!

These conditions will destabilize the atmosphere, setting the stage for widespread severe thunderstorms as low pressure passes to the north and a cold front tracks through the area Monday afternoon and evening. All hazards of severe weather are likely, including large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes.

Storms exit the area Monday evening, as well as the higher levels of instability, resulting in things calming down Monday overnight. Tuesday and Wednesday are looking quiet, with sunshine returning, and highs in the upper 50F’s to lower 60F’s.

We are in a level 4 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms Monday. Now is the time to begin making preparations in case severe weather impacts your local area. See more in our Alert Day Post in the weather section of the website. I will be providing all the latest details as they become available for tomorrow here, on our social media pages, and of course, on tv! Stay tuned!