UPDATED: Tornado Watch No Longer in Effect for Rice County

UPDATED: 8:45 p.m.

The tornado watch is no longer in effect.

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

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

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.

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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