Strong to Severe Storms on Saturday?

UPDATE (Friday AM) - Summer returns to southeastern Wisconsin this weekend. High temperatures will crank back up into the 80s for much of the viewing area starting today, peaking Saturday, and possibly lingering into Sunday. Along a warm front, temperatures and humidity will rise. The dew points will jump into the 60s, making the atmosphere primed for showers and thunderstorms.

Speaking of thunderstorms, two rounds are possible as we look to Saturday. The first round will generate west early Saturday morning and could make it into the viewing area. Overall, the bigger threat for strong to severe storms will move in by Saturday afternoon, evening, and night. The dynamics meteorologist look for in severe weather are: moisture, instability (sunshine with warmth at the surface and cooler air aloft), and lift (front). We will have some of those elements to work with on Saturday; however, the dynamics don’t look overly impressive, especially comparing with the model data from yesterday. The best setup is just to our north with thunderstorms developing in northern Wisconsin by the afternoon, and they will slide into the viewing area late.

The main concerns with these storms will be dangerous lightning, large hail, and damaging winds. The risk of storms will end by Sunday morning. A slight chance of a shower or storm is possible on Sunday, but the threat of severe storms will be much lower. Temperatures cool down by Monday back in the upper 60s.- Meteorologist Chris Nelson

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