Significant changes ahead, starting Tuesday night

A strong cold front is on its way, ending the streak of near-record to record heat and offering up a brief chance at a thunderstorm or two. As the front pushes through southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa this evening, scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop. The most likely timeframe for us to see some thunderstorm activity is between 6pm and 10pm. A few of these thunderstorms might be strong with gusty wind and small hail, but more importantly, some much-needed rainfall. Not all of us are going to see rain tonight, however, due to the scattered nature of this thunderstorm activity.

Cooler air arrives later tonight along with a gusty wind out of the west-northwest, bringing temperatures down rather abruptly. We’ll see daytime temperatures stay in the 60s the majority of Wednesday along with cloud cover and a few sprinkles. Any rain we receive late tonight or Wednesday will remain very light, possibly not more than a trace to a few hundredths of an inch.

Beyond a cooler, cloudy, and gusty Wednesday, we’re in for more sunshine and more seasonal weather from Thursday into the weekend. Rain will remain hard to come by, but there may be a few showers late in the weekend. A widespread, soaking rain is still not expected anytime soon.