Tracking the return of storms late tonight into Saturday
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy with showers and storms moving in after midnight. Some storms may bring heavy rain and strong winds. Lows in the low 70s.
TOMORROW: Morning storms continue through about noon for areas along and north of Highway 50. Highs near 80 degrees.
EXTENDED: A few spotty showers and storms are possible into early evening especially near the front, but we'll have a much better shot at seeing widespread rain and storms before dawn into Saturday morning. Storms are expected to move into our northern counties after 1 or 2 AM and spread southeast through the early morning. Storms will likely move into Columbia by around 7 AM, and the first round exits around noon or just thereafter. Heavy rain is the main concern with the morning round as 1-2" of rain is possible thanks to the high water content in the atmosphere. If cloud cover lingers long into the afternoon, it may be tough to get an organized second round going. If we can realize the amount of instability that will be present south of the front, we could see another round of storms develop by early evening south of Highway 50, bringing the possibility of localized flooding and isolated strong winds. This would likely exit to the south by or before midnight.
Dew points drop like a rock into Sunday, leaving us much more comfortable for the remainder of the weekend with highs in the low to mid-80s. Next week looks pretty incredible for the first week of August with temperatures in the low to mid-80s and low humidity for most of the week, with little rain in the forecast.
