Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and frequent lightning is causing delays for air travelers Friday in the Twin Cities.


As of 2 p.m. the FAA website said travelers were experiencing delays of up to 78 minutes at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Officials expect flights to be affected throughout the day Friday due to backups on the grid and urge travelers to check with their airline for flight status.

Airport spokeswoman Melissa Scovronski says the lightning also temporarily caused air traffic controllers to ground flights Friday morning.

Thunderstorms will continue to move through the Twin Cities with heavy downpours of rain and frequent lightning into the early afternoon. Some of the storms may contain hail and gusty winds at times.

The storms will mainly be north and east of the metro by 3 p.m. but additional storms could redevelop at anytime. The most likely time for dry weather today will be from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. then more storms likely after midnight.

In between storms the humidity will be increasing and the hot and humid weather will settle in for the next seven days.

Heat index values will range from 105 to 110 degrees by Sunday.

Expected high temperatures in the Twin Cities metro will be in the upper 80s then 90 Saturday, 95 Sunday, 97 Monday and 98 Tuesday.

Dew point temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s through the period producing heat index values in the 100s.

Strong thunderstorms may develop at times during the evening hours especially in areas just north of the metro.

The heat wave will likely break by Saturday, July 23 with high temperatures cooling into the 80s.