Increased chances for rain later in the week

(FOX 9) - While parts of the East Coast are getting flooded from Tropical Storm Henri, Minnesota continues to live with drought conditions. Although we won’t solve our lack-of-water problem any time soon, we should be making some improvements in our dry condition as the week progresses.

Tonight’s hit and miss storms (and a few more on Tuesday morning) will bring a handful of us some rain, but the scattered & weakening nature of these storms will do little for adding to our overall monthly totals as a whole – much to the dismay of the Arrowhead and the BWCA, where wildfires continue to burn as winds will occasionally gust upwards of 20+ mph at times over the next couple of days.

But some hope is in sight as confidence is increasing in widespread beneficial rains late in the week. A few atmospheric ripples provide us the opportunity for several chances for soaking showers and thunderstorms starting on Thursday.  Upper level winds look to lift moisture our way from the Gulf of Mexico and could set the stage for 2 or more inches of rain over the course of a few days into this weekend.  Bonus confidence also comes via the Climate Prediction Center, as they have favored a trend toward above average precipitation for both the 6-10 day outlook and the 8-14 day outlook, which is not something we have seen much of lately.