A hot and breezy first half of the weekend

TODAY: Temperatures will warm into the upper 70s to near 80 as southerly winds increase to 11 mph in the afternoon. The day will start off sunny, but increasing clouds will lead to partly sunny skies. If you’re headed to Mizzou’s Homecoming events tonight, evening temperatures will be mild, dropping into the 60s.

TONIGHT: Clouds will continue to increase tonight, allowing temperatures remain mild, only bottoming out in the lower 60s. Winds will remain out of the south near 11 mph overnight.

EXTENDED: Saturday morning, mostly cloudy conditions will hold on, with the potential for a few light showers. Most areas will remain dry. We’ll have considerable cloudiness and a warm afternoon as high temperatures approach 80. Also, it will be breezy as southerly winds increase to 14 mph, gusting to 26 mph at times. A line of showers and thunderstorms moves in after 9 PM from the northwest as a cold front approaches. As this line moves through, a few storms could be strong to severe. There is a marginal risk for isolated severe storms with the best chance west of HWY 63 where we see a slight risk for scattered severe storms. Strong damaging wind is the main threat but some large hail is also possible. Storms will also bring heavy rain with .75″ to 1.50″ likely. Highest rainfall amounts will be west of HWY 63 where local amounts up to 2 inches will be possible. Rain moves out Sunday morning, leaving us with a dry and mild day with high temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. The work week will start with seasonal temperatures as we climb to near 70 Monday but another cold front brings cooler air in for Tuesday with high temperature only reaching the low 60s, dropping to near 40 Tuesday night, with some upper 30s possible. Watch ABC17 News for the latest forecast and follow ABC17 Stormtrack on Twitter for updates.