Severe storms in Minnesota may cause winds of 80 mph and big hail
An powerful line of storms is forecast to continue pushing out of the Dakotas and into Minnesota, so the entirety of the state is under a severe thunderstorm watch until 3 a.m. Saturday.
Widespread damaging winds, with isolated severe gusts up to 80 mph, huge hail, and even some short tornadoes are possible for areas within the watch boxes.
Is there a chance that the storms will not be so mild by the time they reach Duluth and the Twin Cities? The National Weather Service puts the probability at at 5%, so it is not completely null.
According to the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities, “The storms responsible for this watch were still north of Fargo at 730pm, so our area is on the later end of the timing for the threat,” “Storms will likely continue east of the watch, but the severe threat is expected to be lower by then.”
As you can see in this night-long HRRR radar simulation, the storms peter out far before they reach the Twin Cities. It is possible that Saturday morning metro area residents will hear distant thunder as they awake.