Severe thunderstorms to return to storm-weary Midwest this weekend

After a rather active week in terms of severe weather, another wave of storms is projected to develop across the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota from Saturday afternoon to evening.

Over the last week, areas from the Plains to the Ohio Valley have turned into a hotbed for severe weather, and AccuWeather forecasters are once again putting locations across the Midwest on alert for robust thunderstorms this weekend.

More than 1,050 filtered storm reports were collected between Monday, July 29 and Friday, Aug. 2 with the majority of them originating from the corridor from the Dakotas to Kentucky as rounds of storms pulsed through the region. The filtering of storm reports is meant to sift out duplicate reports for the same instance of wind, hail or tornadoes to ensure an accurate count for a particular event.

From Saturday afternoon to evening, a zone of low pressure diving southeastward out of the northern Rocky Mountains will spark strong to severe thunderstorms from portions of Interstate 90 and 94 across the Dakotas to I-35 in Minnesota.

"A very warm and fairly humid afternoon across Minnesota and South Dakota will set the stage for a few severe thunderstorms to rumble through the area Saturday evening into the overnight hours as a quick-moving storm crosses the region," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.

Dew point levels are projected to surge Saturday afternoon and evening across the eastern half of the Dakotas, southern Minnesota, and Iowa southward, with values rising into the lower to middle 70s as the day progresses.

Storms are projected to initiate later Saturday afternoon as they push out of southeastern North Dakota into the borders of South Dakota and west-central Minnesota. Forecasters are outlining a 'moderate' risk for severe thunderstorms across areas of central and south-central Minnesota, including areas around Wheaton to Mankato.

• Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+

"Minnesota is taking on Chicago (American League) Saturday evening with the first pitch at 6:10 p.m. CDT. Given the timing of the storms around Minneapolis, it is possible some storms move in toward the end of the baseball game or shortly after the game is over. Fans at the game should stay weather aware by downloading the AccuWeather app and having severe weather alerts enabled," noted Pydynowski.

It is not out of the question that storms late Saturday can develop rotation as they push out of the Dakotas into Minnesota. Residents across the region are urged to have a severe weather safety plan in place, particularly with robust storms expected to continue pulsing south and eastward after dark.

"Not only will storms on Saturday produce downpours and dangerous lightning, but hail and localized damaging wind gusts can also occur this evening into tonight across much of South Dakota stretching into southern and central Minnesota, with the I-94 corridor between Minneapolis to Fergus Falls seeing the greatest risk for these severe storms," stated Pydynowski.

Through the remainder of the weekend, forecasters say that strong to severe thunderstorms can redevelop from the Dakotas to central Wisconsin. From Sunday evening to Sunday night, locations from South Dakota to southwest Wisconsin will face the risk for severe storms to produce flooding downpours, hail and locally damaging wind gusts.

Into early week, rounds of rain and thunderstorms will continue to impact a similar region from the Front Range to the Great Lakes as numerous waves of energy advance across the northern Plains. A heavy swath of rainfall can set up across central Minnesota through central Michigan from late Sunday to Monday night with anywhere from 1-3 inches of rain possible.

AccuWeather meteorologists will continue to monitor the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms and flooding into the upcoming week.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.