Scattered severe storms possible Aug. 13-14

Severe thunderstorms are possible this evening and overnight, mainly over north-central Minnesota. Damaging winds will be the main threat, with gusts up to 70 MPH possible.

By Nancy Vogt

August 13, 2020 at 10:34 AM

The Brainerd lakes area faces scattered severe storms Thursday night, Aug. 13, and Friday, Aug. 14, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth.

The NWS is expecting two rounds of possibly severe weather in the next two days, including in Crow Wing and Cass counties, which could see between 1 and 2 inches of rain.

The first round is expected between 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, and 4 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, over north-central and northeast Minnesota, with the second round expected between 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, and 1 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, across all of northeast Minnesota and portions of northwest Wisconsin.

Possible hazards include damaging winds, large hail and localized flash flooding due to heavy rainfall. One or two tornadoes can't be ruled out for the storms Friday afternoon/evening, Aug. 14, the NWS said in an email.

The main risks Thursday, Aug. 13, the NWS said, are hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 70 mph. Tornadoes are unlikely but localized flash flooding is possible, the weather service said.

Friday, Aug. 14, scattered severe storms are still possible in the lakes area. Risks are hail up to 1 inch in diameter and wind gusts up to 60 mph. Possible tornadoes and localized flash flooding are possible.

There will be another round of strong to severe thunderstorms for Friday, particularly in the afternoon and evening hours. The most likely time frame for severe storms will be between 4 PM Friday through 1 AM Saturday, but this may change slightly.

By Nancy Vogt

Nancy Vogt is editor of the Pineandlakes Echo Journal, a weekly newspaper that covers eight communities in the Pequot Lakes-Pine River areas - from Nisswa to Hackensack and Pequot Lakes to Crosslake.

She started as editor of the Lake Country Echo in July 2006, and continued in that role when the Lake Country Echo and the Pine River Journal combined in September 2013 to become the Pineandlakes Echo Journal. She worked for the Brainerd Dispatch from 1992-2006 in various roles.

She covers Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Lake Shore and Crosslake city councils, as well as writes feature stories, news stories and personal columns (Vogt's Notes). She also takes photos at community events.

Contact her at nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com or 218-855-5877 with story ideas or questions. Be sure to leave a voicemail message!