Severe thunderstorm watch issued for several metro area counties

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for several metro area counties Friday night into Saturday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, the watch remains in effect until 2 a.m. for the following counties: Blue Earth; Brown; Carver; Dakota; Faribault; Freeborn; Hennepin; Kandiyohi; Le Sueur; Martin; McLeod; Meeker; Nicollet; Redwood; Renville; Rice; Scott; Sibley; Stearns; Steele; Waseca; Watonwan and Wright.

KSTP Meteorologist Jonathan Yuhas said the storms could bring heavy rain, intense lightning and strong winds with gusts above 50 mph. Some hail is also possible in areas.

See the latest forecast at KSTP.com

You can track the latest list of weather alerts here.

The storms could last into Saturday morning but the rest of the weekend is expected to be dry with high temperatures in the mid-80s.

Looking ahead, it’s been about a month since we’ve hit 90 degrees in the metro but that could change next week.