Tracking a cold front that brings rain and a slight cooldown Wednesday

TONIGHT: Temperatures in the upper 80s this afternoon will fall into the 60s by early Wednesday morning. Clouds arriving from the north overnight will help to keep temperatures slightly warmer than the night before.

TOMORROW: These clouds are blowing in to the region from a cold front that will arrive on Wednesday morning. Showers may precede the front, bringing rain chances by sunrise in the north, from Macon to Columbia. This activity will be very spotty, and not much rain is expected in the morning. Most will start the day dry. Lingering showers may drop south of I-70 through the mid-to-late morning, but overall, activity will stall until we warm up in the afternoon. This will drive a better chance for rain. Pop-up storms will form areawide after 1-2 p.m. Everyone will see a chance for storms, but coverage is still expected to be spotty, with any meaningful precipitation amounts falling on a localized basis. Most rainfall will dry up around sunset, as this is mostly driven by daytime heating.

EXTENDED: By Thursday, things are looking drier, outside of a spot morning shower from Sedalia to the Lake of the Ozarks. Otherwise, expect mostly sunny skies, and cooler air leaving highs in the low 80s on Thursday. We'll reach low-to-mid 80s on Friday under more sunshine, but more southerly flow returns for Saturday. This has us in the upper 80s on Saturday, and will drive a chance for isolated to scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Moisture remains pooled in mid-Missouri overnight, until a cold front sweeps it clear on Sunday. This will likely stir up widespread showers and storms between Saturday night and midday Sunday. Timing is still uncertain with the passage of the front, but it's looking like the majority of our rain in the next 7 days will fall over the weekend. Drier conditions lie ahead into Monday and Tuesday.