Tracking a warm Thursday and Friday with storms by Friday night

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and mild with lows in the lower 60s.

TOMORROW: Mostly sunny and hot with highs in the lower 80s.

EXTENDED: Warm air continues to hold across Mid-Missouri on Thursday and Friday as upper high pressure hangs on. We'll see morning lows in the 60s and highs in the mid-80s through Friday. A strong upper level system will swing a cold front in between Friday night and Saturday, bringing the potential for needed rainfall and thunderstorms starting after dark on Friday through Saturday evening. There is a conditional risk of a few strong storms on Saturday, especially if the progression of the cold front slows down. There's enough wind shear if storms do get going to become severe, but their development could be limited by cloud cover and ongoing morning rain. The most likely risk zone is currently along and east/south of I-44 through Saturday afternoon and evening. We'll end up with somewhere between 1-1.5" of rain, with cooler temperatures setting in by Sunday morning. Lows start out in the upper 40s with highs in the mid-60s. Next week is a little warmer to start, but another cold front could work through between Monday night and Tuesday, bringing another brief chance at rain and cooler temperatures to end the week.