Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Residents of southern Minnesota being urged to keep an eye in the sky this evening as a mass of warm moist air collides with a cold front and could spark severe storms and even isolated tornado activity.

A tornado watch has been posted for the Rochester area, and across the majority of the south half of Minnesota through 10 PM. The watch area also covers most of the state of Iowa. A wind advisory will also be in effect from 7 o’clock this evening through 6 PM Tuesday. The National Weather Service is predicting the region will be raked by west winds that could gust as high as 55 miles per hour tonight and through the day tomorrow.

The warm air providing the fuel for the stormy weather pushed the mercury into the 60’s in the Rochester area Monday afternoon. At 4pm, the National Weather Service was reporting the temperature at the Rochester Airport had risen to 63-degrees, marking the first time this year the mercury has been above 60 in Rochester. It’s the warmest it has been since November 17th, when the high temperature reached 64-degrees.

 

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