Justin Liles: Storms clear out tonight

A large outbreak of thunderstorms rolled through earlier this afternoon across much of east central Minnesota and west central Wisconsin. Heavy down pours have led to two areas of concern regarding flash flooding. The first is an area through SE Douglas County, S Bayfield County, NE Washburn County and N Sawyer County in Wisconsin. The second is for parts of Pine County, including the Hinckley area. All of these areas have seen over 3-4” of rainfall. On top of the rain many areas are trying to clean up from wind damage and large hail over the region that was reported.

The damp-swampy air we’ve had over the last 48 hours played a big roll in all of the mess this evening. The good news is temperatures will cool down following the cold front responsible for this evening’s weather.

Temperatures are likely going to cool down into the 70s and dewpoints won’t be quiet as high. In fact, we are looking at a splendid weekend with plenty of sunshine and temperatures staying in the mid-70s. The thermometers may climb again by the middle of next week and thunderstorms look to return too.

TONIGHT
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 9pm. Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
FRIDAY
Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
SATURDAY
Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
MONDAY
Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
TUESDAY
Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
WEDNESDAY
A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.