Quiet today, severe risk returns Thursday

The biggest severe weather outbreak of the year so far blasted the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota last night. The cluster of severe storms mutated into a bow echo in central Minnesota, then raced southeast along and south of Interstate 94 through the Twin Cities into southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Hundreds of wind damage reports came rolling in, everything from minor branches torn loose, to massive trees down on cars and houses.

Thankfully no people were injured, but cleanup continues after last night's storms.

By 8 p.m. well over 100,000 had lost power. As many as 200,000 customers may have lost power at peak overnight.

If you have a storm report, please let us know here at MPR's Public Insight Network.

Anatomy of a bow echo

Tuesday evening's storm showed classic bow echo structure. These damaging wind producing weather systems were first identified by Dr. Theodore Fujita, aka "Dr. Tornado" in the 1970s.

The same storm system is still rolling southeast through Illinois this morning. Bow echoes can become derechos if they last long enough. The famous July 4, 1999 Boundary Waters blow down event was a massive bow echo turned derecho that lasted more than 24 hours.

Here's the radar archive of that July 4, 1999 event than downed million of trees  in the BWCA, tore up popular lakes like Seagull Lake. The blow down event literally changed the landscape for a generation or more.

Severe risk returns tomorrow

The next low-pressure wave tracks across Iowa Thursday bringing more storms to the Upper Midwest.

By late tonight another MCS rumbles east toward southern Minnesota. This time the biggest risk zone rides the Interstate 90 corridor south of the metro, but the Twin Cities could get clipped by storms late tonight and Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NAM 4 km model does a (potentially) remarkable job of capturing two potential storm waves. The first wave pulses another (fading) bow echo across southern Minnesota overnight. That could bring a "sunrise surprise" to the metro and southern Minnesota.

The second wave develops Thursday late afternoon and races toward the metro Thursday evening.

Stay tuned as we tweak storm location and timing over the next 24 hours.

Nice weekend?

The timing may work out for another mostly glorious weekend across Minnesota as high pressure builds in again by Saturday. Another sunny and mostly dry weekend ahead?

Stay tuned.