Weather Service: More Heavy Rain, Severe Weather on the Way

Get ready for a stormy Friday night.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch through midnight Friday and a flash flood watch from 9 p.m. Friday through 1 p.m. Saturday.

At least one to two inches of rain could fall overnight.

On Friday afternoon, a plethora of watches and hazardous weather outlooks were issued for central and southern Minnesota as a slow-moving weather system continues to impact the area.

Dakota County felt the first blow of the system during the early-morning hours of Friday, with heavy rain, gusty winds, lightning and, in some areas, hail.

Here are the weather alerts at a glance, from the National Weather Service website:

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 338 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1200 AM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: ANOKA, BLUE EARTH, CHISAGO, DAKOTA, DODGE, GOODHUE, HENNEPIN, ISANTI, KANABEC, LE SUEUR, MILLE LACS, OLMSTED, PINE, RAMSEY, RICE, SCOTT, STEELE, WABASHA, WASECA, WASHINGTON, WINONA.

HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK

...LOCALIZED FLOODING EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND INTO TONIGHT WITH THIS NEXT ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...

...THE THREAT FOR FLOODING CONTINUES INTO NEXT WEEK AS THE STORMY PATTERN PERSIST ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY...

...CONCERN FOR RIVER FLOODING INCREASES AS WE GO THROUGH THE WEEKEND... A VERY SLOW MOVING UPPER AIR PATTERN WILL CONTINUE TO ALLOW FOR ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. WE WILL SEE BREAKS IN THE ACTIVITY DURING THE DAYTIME HOURS AND EVEN SOME SUN. HOWEVER GIVEN THE UNSETTLED ATMOSPHERE.... THE ADDITIONAL HEATING CAUSED BY THE SUN WILL HELP TO REGENERATE THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. AT THIS POINT...WE DO NOT SEE A CHANGE TO THIS CYCLIC PATTERN UNTIL AT LEAST TUESDAY. SURFACE DEW POINTS HAVE ALREADY CLIMBED INTO THE MID TO UPPER 60S AND THEY WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 70 WITH THE CONTINUED INFLUX OF MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. RAINFALL RATES OF 1.5 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR ARE EXPECTED IN THE HEAVIER RAIN CORES. THIS INTENSE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE SEWERS ARE QUICKLY OVERWHELMED AND SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE ALREADY RUNNING HIGH DUE TO THE RAINS FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS.

WIDESPREAD ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1.5 TO 3.5 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH MONDAY EVENING WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS OF 6+ INCHES. THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE SIGNIFICANT RAINS ALREADY RECEIVED FROM STORMS LAST NIGHT.

FOR AREAS THAT SEE REPEAT THUNDERSTORMS...THE ABILITY OF THE SOIL TO ABSORB THE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL DIMINISH. HENCE...THE CONCERN IS INCREASED FOR THE RISK OF FLASH FLOODING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

MINOR FLOODING IS ALREADY OCCURRING ON THE LONG PRAIRIE RIVER AT LONG PRAIRIE WHICH IS A TRIBUTARY TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. OTHER TRIBUTARIES MAY EXPERIENCE AT LEAST MINOR FLOODING SATURDAY AND INTO SUNDAY. CONCERN FOR MAIN STEM RIVER FLOODING ON THE MISSISSIPPI...MINNESOTA AND CHIPPEWA RIVER IN WISCONSIN INCREASES LATER THIS WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK.

FLOOD WATCH

...SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOOD EVENT POSSIBLE OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING....MORE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN TONIGHT. THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS COULDOCCUR THROUGH THE NIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.

RAINFALL RATES WITH THE HEAVIEST STORMS ARE AGAIN EXPECTED TO BE IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH PER HOUR RANGE...WITH ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF THE WATCH AREA...WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS POSSIBLY EXCEEDING 6 INCHES OVER SOUTHERN MINNESOTA. MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS THE WATCH AREA RECEIVED 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN LAST NIGHT INTO THIS PAST MORNING. AS A RESULT...SOILS ARE SATURATED ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AND WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLASH FLOODING IF THESE HIGHER RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE SEEN.