“Cooler” weather to accompany strong overnight storms

After one of the hottest weeks we’ve seen in nearly 4 years, the heat is finally taking a backseat as we head into the coming days.

The ridge that was largely responsible for the dangerous heat is finally breaking down. This comes as a cold front is tracking through the Midwest and bringing storms and “cooler” weather with it.

Thanks to the heat we’ve seen build into Mid-Missouri, plenty of fuel exists for storms to fire and become severe. However, with little in the way of upper level support, any severe storms will be short-lived in nature.

Severe thunderstorm watches have been issued for parts of Mid-Missouri ahead of the line of storms that will track through as we head into the night.

The Storm Prediction Center has issued a slight risk of severe weather for parts of Mid-Missouri and the going trend suggests these storms hold together over the region.

Any storms that do go severe will bring the threat for heavy rainfall, damaging winds in excess of 58 mph, quarter size hail, and frequent lightning. The greatest threat for the damaging winds will exist in the storms that are decaying, as most of the wind energy will arrive in the form of downbursts.

The storms exit as we head through daybreak on Sunday, with slightly “cooler” weather to follow. It’s still July, so expect highs to only fall back into the upper 80s and lower 90s.

Stay with ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather as we continue to track the summer heat and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.