Tonight will be partly cloudy with overnight lows in the low 50s. There is a chance of a light shower this evening, but the current focus is on the severe weather potential for Monday night.

With the exception of areas close to the lake, Monday’s highs will be near 80 degrees throughout the region. As a front approaches from the west, there is the potential for scattered severe thunderstorms to develop in the evening hours. This system is tricky- we will either have several severe storms or have hardly anything. The difference will depend on the timing of storm development.

If we do have severe thunderstorms develop on Monday, the timing would be in the late afternoon for north-central Minnesota and in the evening to overnight hours for the rest of the area as storms move eastward. Hail could reach 2″ in diameter, and winds could gust up to 75 mph. Tornadoes are also in the realm of possibility.

Although flash flooding is not in the forecast for this round of rain, any bit of precipitation we get could result in minor flooding and ponding. The ground is still saturated, and there are several flood warnings in effect as we wait for river and lake levels to decrease.

The latest forecast details, an interactive radar, and alerts in the region can always be found on WDIO.com and through the WDIO app.

Monday

A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Light southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday

A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Friday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.