A large 500mb trough is currently developing over the western Rockies, and will play a significant factor in what could become a severe weather outbreak across the northern Plains and upper MS valley this weekend. Plenty of moisture and instability will be in place over the upper MS valley region into the Dakotas, where dewpoints are expected to approach 80 degrees tomorrow!

The 12z NAM shows a surface low developing over eastern South Dakota, which will increase low-level flow and shear over parts of Iowa and Minnesota. This will elevate the tornado potential significantly as storms remain somewhat discrete after initiation, before eventually congealing into a larger mesoscale system. Several of our live video streamers will be covering this event (even though Iowa has seen a lot of "busts" this year!) so be sure to follow along with them tomorrow into the rest of the weekend!