Strong to severe storms possible Thursday night

A strong cold front making its way into Mid-Missouri will bring more rain by Thursday evening through the late evening hours.

Clouds stick around much of Thursday, and morning showers along and east of Highway 63 have helped stabilize the atmosphere in parts of the area.

However, more instability is expected to increase over western Mid-Missouri by late afternoon into the evening, especially for areas west of Highway 63.

That, coupled with strong wind shear needed for storm development and increasing low level winds, could create the potential for storms moving in tonight to become strong to severe.

Thunderstorms are expected to move into the Highway 65 corridor by 5-6 PM, spreading further east through the evening, putting them into the Columbia/Jefferson City area between 7-8 PM. This will likely impact the University of Missouri football game, scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. in Columbia.

Storms that do develop will bring the risk for all modes of severe weather, but damaging winds will be the primary threat.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued until 8:00 PM for areas west of Highway 63.

Rain and storm chances decrease from west to east, with storms ending in our eastern counties between 11 PM and midnight.

You can keep an eye on updates from the ABC 17 Stormtrack weather team here, and sign up for ABC 17 text alerts here.