Tracking Thursday rain ahead of a dry and warm weekend

TODAY: Thursday brings showers and thunderstorms areawide, mostly through the morning. This is when coverage is best before moving east by the early afternoon. Then, more spotty thunderstorms will develop along a cold front that pushes through most of the region. Any chance for a strong storm is incredibly low locally, and storms should stay below severe limits. Activity will end shortly after sunset. Temperatures are likely kept in the low 70s with rain prevalent for much of the morning and clouds present for most of the day. Winds are variable but mostly out of the south until the cold front passes, switching them from the north.

TONIGHT: Temperatures fall into the 60s overnight with partly to mostly cloudy skies.

EXTENDED: We'll slowly clear from northwest to southeast through Friday, with the only chance for rain bubbling up south of the cold front near I-44. Friday is warmer, with highs reaching into the upper 70s. By Saturday, more sunshine helps temperatures climb into the 80s. Sunday is mostly dry, with more sunshine and highs in the upper 80s. A chance for rain may arrive by the evening, however, as we track a short wave that is expected to near by Monday. Another round of rain is more likely on Monday, with a much better chance on Tuesday. Temperatures remain in the 80s for the first half of next week.