Minnesota is in for a whirlwind of weather over the next few days, with strong or even severe storms expected on Saturday night followed by heavy rain on Monday. The National Weather Service has expressed growing confidence that these storms could bring hail and strong winds.

According to the HRRR model, the day will start with showers and some thunder moving in from Canada into northern Minnesota on Saturday morning. As the day progresses, stronger storms are anticipated to develop in central Minnesota and then move southeastward. Residents are advised to stay updated on weather alerts and signs of approaching storms.

After a brief dry spell on Sunday, another chance for rain and storms looms on Monday and potentially into Tuesday. These storms pose a unique threat as they could bring heavy rain, with the potential for training over the same areas. The exact locations of the heaviest rainfall remain uncertain, but meteorologists indicate significant rain totals could be expected.

The European model predicts that eastern South Dakota, the southern third of Minnesota, and Wisconsin could see rainfall amounts ranging from 2-3+ inches. The American model aligns with this projection, suggesting a consensus among forecast models. In fact, when taking an average of all the models, the bullseye for heavy rain from Saturday to Monday appears to be in east-central Minnesota and into Wisconsin.

Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard from Bring Me The News emphasizes that Monday will likely see more widespread showers and thunderstorms, with the potential for a soggy midday and afternoon. Following this active period, the weather is expected to calm down and become cooler for the rest of the week, with temperatures ranging in the 70s.

Residents should be prepared for the possibility of hail and damaging winds with the storms developing on Saturday. Furthermore, severe storms remain a concern for Saturday night and again on Sunday afternoon and night, with the potential for supercells to produce very large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and heavy rain.

The sequence of events suggests that storms could fire up in the afternoon in southern Minnesota, with another line moving in from the Dakotas. Stay tuned to relevant weather updates and take necessary precautions to stay safe during these potentially severe weather episodes.