Rain and isolated thunderstorms are expected in the Northland tonight, with showers tapering off overnight. The heaviest rain will be in far northern Minnesota and the Arrowhead region, where half an inch or more is possible, while areas farther south, including Duluth, will see much lighter amounts.
Radar loop from the afternoon of Monday, October 12, 2026, ending at about 5:20 PM CT.
A low-pressure system along the Minnesota-Iowa border will move northeast tonight. As is common with these systems, colder air sits on one side with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, while the warmer eastern side experiences much higher temperatures in the 70s and 80s today.
A strong temperature contrast across the region today, coupled with the pressure gradient between low pressure over southern Minnesota and high pressure to the north, produced an ideal setup for a gale event on western Lake Superior. East-northeast wind gusts of 30 to 45 mph have developed as a result.
By 4 PM today, Duluth Sky Harbor Airport saw a peak wind gust of 44 mph, while the Blatnik Bridge recorded a gust close to 50 mph at 49 mph.
Strong winds will persist near Lake Superior until late this evening, easing overnight, with much calmer weather anticipated on Tuesday.
Today’s weather system is pushing modest levels of elevated CAPE (instability) northward into parts of the Northland, which should be enough to spark a few thunderstorms this evening, though no severe weather is anticipated.
Later in the week, a strong trough will dip southeast across the upper Midwest, while another system brings widespread rain well south of the Northland. The northern trough will help keep that southern system away from the Northland toward the end of the week.
In our area, there will be a brief cool-down on Friday before warmer temperatures return for the weekend, though not quite as warm as this past weekend.
With colder air moving in, gusty northwest winds are set to kick up Thursday night and stick around through Friday, with gusts possibly hitting 30 to 40 mph in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
Gale-force winds, and perhaps some borderline storm-force gusts, are possible on Lake Superior Thursday night into Friday. With winds coming from the northwest, the biggest waves will be focused farther east and away from the North Shore compared to Monday’s event.
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