Tracking rain and storms tonight, wintry weather later this week

TONIGHT: Windy and warm with rain moving in after midnight. A few thunderstorms possible. Temperatures in the lower 50s by morning.

TOMORROW: Rain exits early, showers exit mid-morning with temperatures dropping through the day. Morning temperatures start in the 50s, then fall to the low 30s by late afternoon.

EXTENDED: A strong cold front will bring showers and thunderstorms to southern and southwest Missouri late tonight, pushing northeast overnight into tomorrow morning. A few of these storms may be strong before daybreak near I-44, but the overall severe risk for Mid-MO is low into Tuesday. Rain exits east of us by mid-late morning, and winds shift back northwest, bringing temperatures down from the 50s in the morning to the upper 30s by late afternoon. Cold air settles in for the rest of the week, with highs only topping out in the upper 20 through Friday. Our next system will bring two distinct waves of wintry precipitation; from late Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night, and the second from Thursday morning through Thursday night. There could be a few hour lull with little to no precipitation between these waves. The first round will start off as sleet, and progress to snow as the warm layer of air aloft begins to cool. The second wave will mostly be snow for our area, exiting by Thursday night. Total accumulation will end up around 2-4" of sleet and snow, with the higher end of that range south of I-70. Areas north of I-70 will be around 1-2" storm total. We'll likely feel road impacts through Friday morning with AM temperatures in the mid-teens, but we'll warm just below freezing during the day. The weekend looks slightly warmer with highs in the upper 30s to around 40.