Tracking a warm and windy start to a weekend that ends wet and cold

TODAY: Friday is a warm and windy day. A red flag warning is in effect for most of mid-Missouri from noon to 6 p.m. Burning will be dangerous and is discouraged. Southwest winds around 15-20 mph will gust to 30 mph at times. Temperatures reach the low 70s with southwest wind and abundant sunshine.

TONIGHT: Temperatures fall to near 40 by sunrise Saturday under mostly clear skies. Winds relax, becoming variable overnight.

EXTENDED: Saturday is another warm day, with highs in the 60s under partly cloudy skies. A cold front approaches, passing in the late afternoon hours. Ahead of it, we'll have a chance for a few showers, but the day will be mostly dry. The cold front settles in cooler air on Sunday, with temperatures dropping into the upper 20s by sunrise. A start just below freezing on Sunday should have minor implications, as precipitation on Sunday is forecast to start later in the day, allowing for temperatures to reach well above freezing, if not into the 40s, by the time rain onsets in the afternoon. At some point, rain will transition to snow in the north, and there will be a chance for mixed precipitation in between. This precipitation may linger into Monday morning, before clearing. Highs on Sunday may just reach 40°, with Monday looking slightly warmer after precipitation winds down. Another wave of rain is expected Tuesday, but temperatures warming into the 40s and 50s should keep this round as all rain. More rain chances and warmer air build in through next week, making for a wet and less wintry forecast.