The winds are quick to change direction in the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, especially in northern Minnesota, thanks to a low-pressure trough.

A low-pressure trough is visible when you look at the wind direction. If you've been checking out the WindRadar this morning and afternoon, this is one cool feature we can easily spot. Want to know how we know it's a trough? The wind direction! Low-pressure troughs carry winds that circulate counterclockwise.

Today's view of the trough on the WindRadar shows the axis itself with winds coming from the northwest on the left side and the southwest on the right side, seen easily in the Upper Midwest.

The low-pressure trough is the opposite of a high-pressure ridge and is often associated with rainy or stormy weather and cooler temperatures bringing up the rear. This is opposed to the warmer and quiet weather a ridge provides. Those who have experienced intense heatwaves, like the ones in the West and southern Plains, know the term high-pressure ridge all too well.

We saw the rainy and stormy effects from the low-pressure trough this morning in the Midwest in the form of elevated thunderstorms and will see rain showers in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest this afternoon.