Mild Tuesday Morning With Severe Storms Increasing Tonight

TODAY: A jacket will only be needed this morning as temperatures are in the mid 50s for the morning commute. It will be warm and windy with high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, possibly breaking the record high in Columbia of 75 from 1972. Southerly winds of 15-20 mph will gust to 30 mph at times, giving us a higher fire risk Tuesday. There is a slight chance of t-storms by late afternoon which will increase Tuesday evening and overnight as a cold front moves through. Spotty storms are possible in the afternoon but a better chance exists from 9 PM to 4 AM with storms more widespread.

TONIGHT: Storms will be developing by 7PM-9PM in northwest Mid-Missouri near Chariton, Randolph, and Macon counties. A line of thunderstorms will develop and tracking from northwest Mid-Missouri through central Mid-Missouri in Columbia between 12AM and 3AM. These will move out by 5 AM Wednesday. Severe storms capable of producing ALL MODES of severe weather are possible. The greatest threats are damaging wind over 58 mph and large hail. Power outages are possible with these strong winds.

EXTENDED: Another slight chance of light rain moves in from the northwest Wednesday morning. A brief period of snow or rain/ snow mix is possible north of I-70 Wednesday morning but accumulation is not expected due to above freezing temperatures. It will be cooler Wednesday with highs near 50, dropping to near 30 overnight. The rest of the week looks dry with temperatures returning to the 60s by the upcoming weekend. The next rain chance looks to increase by Sunday night and Monday morning of next week. Please check back for updates and follow ABC17Stormtrack on Twitter and ABC17News on Facebook for updates as well.