Tracking dangerous heat Thursday and Friday, limited storm chances

TONIGHT: Increasing clouds with lows in the upper 60s.

TOMORROW: Chance of a few showers early, clouds decrease with highs in the upper 90s. Heat index between 100-103 degrees.

EXTENDED: Thursday evening is stuffy with lows falling into the mid-70s, and we warm up fast again on Friday. Friday afternoon could be a touch hotter without any clouds or rain to impede a warm up. Highs reach the upper 90s to around 100, and the record high tomorrow in Columbia is 100 degrees, set back in 1953. A slow moving cold front moves in to our north Friday night, and could eventually trigger scattered thunderstorms if temperatures get low enough to break through an atmospheric cap. Given how hot we will be during the day, I don't think we'll see much if any development until after sunset. The best chance of storms will be north of I-70 late Friday into Saturday morning before the front lifts back north during the day on Saturday. Given the lack of rain on Saturday, temperatures will warm into the low 90s. The front stays north of us to start Sunday, allowing temperatures to rise into the low 90s. By Sunday night, the front slides back in, bringing a better chance of showers and storms as it moves through Mid-Missouri into Monday. Behind the front, we cool down to near 80 on Monday and Tuesday before temperatures jump back to near normal by Wednesday. We could definitely use the rain as we're about 2" below average for June.