Tracking a breezy end to the workweek

Today: Friday is looking even warmer than Thursday as highs reach the lower 80s. We still get a nice breeze during the afternoon with wind gusts reaching up to 20-25 mph.

Tonight: Skies remain mostly clear, and winds relax to a light southerly breeze. Temperatures hold in the mid-50s.

Extended: A warm start, mostly sunny skies, and an even stronger southwest breeze will mean the sky is the limit on temperatures for homecoming. Columbia's record high on Saturday is 88 degrees, set back in 1899; as of now, that number remains just out of reach. Sunday will also be warm, likely in the 80s, but we'll have more clouds to contend with, so we may not be as warm. Chances for rain return late Sunday night, but most of the day will remain dry, and that rain may not materialize at all. There is much higher confidence in widespread rain on Monday as a cold front approaches. Timing is still uncertain, as there's been a lot of change with this set up recently. It looks like the front may become a stalled boundary nearby on Monday, along which another low pressure will move in from the south overnight into Tuesday. If this is the case, this significantly increases the time we spend in rain chances, and has thus greatly increased potential rain totals. It's now entirely possible that we could end up with more than 2 inches between Sunday night and Wednesday. Temperatures will likely fall into the 70s on Monday, 60s by Tuesday, and end in the 50s by midweek.