It wasn’t long after the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for southern Minnesota that a tornado watch was issued.
“Isolated supercell thunderstorms are likely to intensify in the next few hours across southern Minnesota, in a moist and moderately sheared environment. These storms will track eastward across the watch area, posing a risk of a few tornadoes and damaging wind gusts,” says NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center.
The watch does not include the Twin Cities metro area, which is just north of the warm front that is stationed across southern Minnesota. Areas just south of the front are in the watch, including the cities of Mankato, Fairmont, Northfield, Austin, Rochester and La Crosse.
Meanwhile, flood watches and warnings have been issued, with the NWS predicting some locations to get 4-5+ inches of rain, with rain falling at rates of 1+ inches per hour in the heaviest bands.
Ponding of water on roadways is expected in the Twin Cities as a heavy band of rain moves through the metro this afternoon…