The Minneapolis weather forecast this weekend wasn’t just your average summertime shuffle between sun and showers. It came with a warning stitched into the clouds, one that spells out a stronger message for anyone who’s lived in the Midwest long enough to read the sky.
Sunday brought humid air, climbing temperatures, and a building tension that felt like a storm brewing even before the radar lit up. Temperatures hovered near 82 °F, dew points reached into the uncomfortable 70s, and the air felt heavy enough to press down on your chest. A 50 percent chance of thunderstorms was forecasted for the afternoon, and it didn’t take long before watches and warnings began creeping into the picture.
Then came the tornado alert.
By mid-afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center issued a tornado watch for a large swath of southern Minnesota, including the greater Twin Cities area. This wasn’t a drill or a “just-in-case.” It was rooted in very real atmospheric ingredients coming together — warm, moist air from the south, a shifting jet stream above, and just enough wind shear to start the rotation process in some of the stronger storm cells. Minneapolis sat right on the edge of that zone, a bullseye for severe weather potential.
A tornado watch, for anyone unfamiliar, means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop. It doesn’t mean one has touched down yet, but it does mean you should be alert, review your shelter plan and stay tuned to local broadcasts or weather apps for fast-changing updates. In severe storm setups like this, minutes matter.
While not every thunderstorm today will spin, some could. Supercells capable of producing large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes remain a real possibility until late evening. The risk is highest through 10 p.m., when daytime heating begins to taper and the atmosphere starts to stabilize — but we’re not quite there yet.
Flash flooding remains a second concern. With the Mississippi River still under a flood warning in Hennepin County and rainfall totals projected at up to three-quarters of an inch from today’s storms, local creeks and storm drains could be overwhelmed quickly. Combine that with reduced visibility and slick roadways, and you’ve got a recipe for dangerous conditions, even without a tornado in sight.
Tonight, storm chances ease back to just 10 percent after 7 p.m., and the low will dip to around 65 °F with light west winds. But keep in mind that even lingering overnight showers could cause additional nuisance flooding in some neighborhoods. If you live near low-lying areas or have a basement prone to seepage, tonight might be a good time to double-check your sump pump and move valuables to higher ground.
Looking ahead to Monday, Minneapolis weather should calm down — at least briefly. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast, with a 20 percent chance of isolated storms after 1 p.m. Highs will peak near 80 °F again, but drier air should make things feel more breathable. Winds from the west at 5 to 15 mph will help push out some of today’s humidity. Monday night will drop to a cool and pleasant 63 °F, under clear to partly cloudy skies.
This brief weather reset is exactly that: brief. While Monday offers a safer window for errands, gardening, or grabbing ice cream by the lakeside, the setup for Tuesday and Wednesday will depend on how today’s frontal boundary behaves. If it stalls out nearby, moisture could linger, keeping storm chances alive into early July.
For now, stay weather-aware. Charge your phone. Keep the flashlight nearby. Review your tornado plan — basement or interior room, no windows, blankets or a helmet if possible. Even if no tornado touches down, knowing where to go brings peace of mind. These watches aren’t meant to scare, but to prepare.
The reality is, this kind of Minneapolis weather is becoming more common. Rapid changes, more frequent storm clusters, and unpredictable rainfall totals are the new normal for late June and early July. It’s not just the heat that demands respect anymore, it’s what that heat might become when it collides with colder air masses.
So whether you’re riding out the storms from a downtown apartment, a suburban home in Edina, or a rural property just west of the city, keep your eyes to the sky, your local alerts active, and your gut instincts sharp. The atmosphere has something to say today, and in true Minnesota fashion, it’s doing it with a clap of thunder, a crack of lightning, and maybe — just maybe — a spinning funnel dropping from the clouds.
