UPDATE: Tornado Watch Expires for Lake Minnetonka Area

UPDATE: The tornado watch issued earlier this evening has expired, and the threat of severe weather has passed through the Lake Minnetonka are.

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The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Hennepin County and most counties in central and southern Minnesota.

The tornado watch is in effect until 11 p.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued the latest watch a little before 4 p.m.

Tornado watches are typically issued in advance of bad weather. The watch is intended to give people time to review tornado safety rules and identify a safe place to stay if dangerous weather moves in.

Severe thunderstorms are also possible around Lake Minnetonka on Sunday evening, as a low pressure system makes its way through the area. Hail and damaging winds could both occur with the storms.

At least 95 tornadoes were reported from Oklahoma through Kansas, Nebraska and southern Iowa on Saturday—killing at least five people. 

According to the NWS:

This Afternoon: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some of the storms could be severe. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a south wind around 23 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. South wind 10 to 18 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

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