Rain is soaking Minnesota on Friday. State law says your headlights should be on, even during daylight.

Rain is falling across much of Minnesota on Friday, and under state law, that means your headlights belong on, at noon as much as at midnight.

The headlight requirement is broader than many drivers assume. Minnesota Statute 169.48 requires every vehicle on a highway in the state to display lighted headlamps, lighted tail lamps and illuminating devices in three situations: from sunset to sunrise; any time it is raining, snowing, sleeting or hailing; and any other time visibility is impaired by weather, smoke, fog or other conditions, or there isn't enough light to clearly make out people and vehicles 500 feet ahead.

The second one matters most on a day like Friday, because nothing about visibility is attached to it. If precipitation is falling, the lights are required no matter how well you can see, no matter how bright the afternoon.

The same rule carries into winter. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety puts headlights in its winter driving guidance, telling drivers they must turn them on when it's snowing or sleeting, alongside clearing snow and ice from windows, the hood, headlights, brake lights and turn signals. The Minnesota Department of Transportation gives drivers the same reminder.

One wrinkle for anyone who gets a ticket: lawmakers singled out the precipitation clause, and a violation of it is not negligence per se or prima facie evidence of negligence. It's still a citable offense. 

WCCO has a NEXT Weather Alert in effect Friday, with a strong storm system keeping rain over much of the state for most of the day and a flood watch in southeastern Minnesota. Rain that started off light picks up through the morning and afternoon, with temperatures near 60 and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

Totals of 1 to 2 inches are likely along and south of Interstate 94, including the Twin Cities, with 2 to 4 inches closer to Interstate 90, WCCO meteorologist Adam Del Rosso said. Heavy storms could develop Friday evening near I-90, especially around Owatonna and Albert Lea, where repeated downpours could dump several inches in a short time.