Douglas: Possible record high Friday, then risk of severe storms

Here’s a harrowing statistic the next time you want to chat up Minnesota’s manic weather: January and February are the only two tornado-free months of the year.

At least 10 tornadoes were observed in Minnesota on Dec. 15, 2021. And who can forget Minnesota’s earliest confirmed tornadoes near Zimmerman on March 7, 2017? Stick around long enough and you’ll see almost everything.

According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, there is a slight threat of severe thunderstorms later Friday over southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities. A squall line should push northward out of Iowa by late afternoon or evening; the primary risk is hail and damaging straight-line winds.

The record high at MSP for March 14 is 73 degrees set in 2012, and there’s a good chance we’ll break it with mid-70s before any storms hit. Rain tapers to showers Saturday with a stripe of heavy snow over far western Minnesota. Speaking of the S-word, models hint at a couple of inches of slush next Wednesday. The sun is too high in the sky for any snow to last for long.