Minnesota Drought: Here's When The Rain Will Start

TWIN CITIES, MN — The current Twin Cities forecast has some good news amid the severe drought the state is going through; there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms from Friday night into Saturday morning.

"It will be hot for the next 7 days, with most days expected to feature highs in the 90s," the National Weather Service said. "Best chance for rain, including a few strong to severe storms will come late Friday afternoon into Friday night."

Minnesota is currently in a drought warning. Nearly 20 percent of the state is under "extreme drought conditions," according to the federal drought monitor.

Unfortunately, even if the forecast holds and we do get rain, it won't be nearly enough to end the drought. The end of July will feature mostly hot and dry weather.

"Under current conditions, it will take at least three to five inches of precipitation spread over a period of about two weeks to significantly alleviate the drought," the state Department of Natural Resouces said in a news release.

"Soils are more efficiently replenished by multiple rainfall events than by any single heavy rainfall event. Surface water and groundwater respond somewhat differently over time."

Here's the full NWS forecast for the Twin Cities metro area:

Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 99. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am. Sunny and hot, with a high near 95. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 68. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly clear, with a low around 71. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny and hot, with a high near 94. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 93. South southwest wind around 5 mph.