Tracking rain by tomorrow night, snow and dangerous cold by Friday

TONIGHT: Gradually decreasing clouds, lows in the upper 20s.

TOMORROW: Partly to mostly cloudy with highs in the upper 30s. Rain moves in after sunset.

EXTENDED: Another round of wintry weather is on the way for the end of the week, prompting another Weather Alert Day. A low pressure system will track northeast into the area starting tomorrow night, bringing rain to Mid-Missouri after sunset. Temperatures will hover in the upper 30s tomorrow night with rain continuing through daybreak on Friday. Cold air quickly rushes in, turning rain to snow after about 7:00 a.m. from west to east. The system has begun to trend a bit farther north with amounts coming in a bit lower than previously forecast. 1-3" of snowfall looks likely for much of our area, including Columbia and Jefferson City. Areas up toward Macon to Monroe City may see up to 4". The main concern would be blowing snow and flash freezing with wet roads becoming slick on Friday night as temperatures drop through the afternoon and evening into the teens to low 20s. Snowfall looks to clear Mid-Missouri to the northeast by late afternoon or early evening Friday. From there, brutally cold temperatures set in by Friday night, with lows dropping into the single digits. Temperatures top out in the teens on Saturday with evening temps falling to about zero. Sunday and Monday will be the coldest days with highs in the single digits and lows below zero. We could see wind chills below zero from Saturday morning through Wednesday morning. Another shot at snow is possible on Sunday, but this system will be lacking much more moisture, so amounts look fairly limited at this time.