The weather team is keeping a close eye on the potential for a few strong to severe thunderstorms later this afternoon into this evening. Storms have already developed across parts of central and northern Minnesota and have moved across the Twin Cities metro area, and additional storms are expected to develop along a cold front across western Minnesota before pushing east through the rest of the day and into this evening.
The main threats would be large hail and strong wind gusts. The tornado threat is low, but an isolated tornado or two will be possible, especially farther north closer to the low.
One thing that has increased the severe weather potential a bit this afternoon is the amount of clearing we have seen. With some sunshine and considerable warming, there is now more heat and energy available for storms compared to what we would have had if clouds had lingered longer…