Tracking rain and storms that kick off an otherwise pleasant weekend

TODAY: Friday morning will start wet for some, with widely scattered showers and storms at sunrise. Not all will need the umbrella this morning, but off and on showers will be wide spread through the first half of the morning. By 10 a.m. or so, we're expecting another complex of rain and storms to approach from the activity currently ongoing in Nebraska and Kansas this morning. This won't be severe, but we'll likely get to hear some thunder and see times of heavy rain. This will push east ward and leave us generally drier through the late afternoon and evening. Some will even see sunshine this evening. That's where temperatures will be the warmest. Expect a wide spread of temperatures from potentially upper 70s near the lake, to low 60s near Paris and Mexico.

TONIGHT: Generally dry weather is expected this evening, but storms will return overnight. Likely in the early morning, around 3-5 a.m., a line of thunderstorms will push through. This line will likely be severe near the Missouri and Kansas border, but quickly weaken as it pushes west towards mid-Missouri. Very little threat is expected with this line, but a strong segment of the line can't be ruled out.

EXTENDED:

Without a sharp wind change at the surface behind this line, temperatures will briefly cool into the low 60s behind the rain Saturday morning, before warming back into the low 70s Saturday. Behind the rain we should have a good shot at sunshine after sunrise. Saturday through Sunday, we'll keep breezy conditions, with more sunshine back for Sunday. Sunday looks cooler, but only by a few degrees. Overall, it's looking like the weekend will turn out pretty nice. The rain returns early next week, with rain chances back through the first half of the week.