It’s a busy day at the National Weather Service offices in Chanhassen, where meteorologist Nick Carletta has his eyes on six screens, watching for storms that could bring violent weather to the Twin Cities in the form of high winds, large hail and even tornadoes.

A large portion of Minnesota from St. Cloud south to the Iowa border is also under a high risk for severe weather that is expected to develop Monday afternoon through early evening, Carletta said.

“Keep an eye on the sky and have a trusted source to get weather information,” he said.

While no watches or warnings had been issued for the Twin Cities as of 1 p.m., all the ingredients needed for dangerous and destructive weather were coming together across eastern South Dakota and expected to cross into Minnesota by afternoon, Carletta said.

A tornado watch was in effect until 8 p.m. for western Minnesota, including cities such as Morris, St. Cloud, Willmar, Worthington and Marshall, the National Weather Service said.

A warm front colliding with a cold front has “a lot of windshear” in the environment, setting the stage for an outbreak of twisters.

“If we get a supercell, there would be the potential,” Carletta said. “Let’s cross our fingers we don’t have that.”

In anticipation of inclement weather, St. Paul Public Schools has called off after-school programs and activities. High school activities will be decided on a case-by-case basis and community education classes will be held as scheduled, the district said. Minneapolis Public Schools also canceled all after-school activities including extended learning, youth enrichment programming, and athletics, the district said in an email to families.