Tracking a hot Election Day, rain and storms returning Wednesday

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and comfortable with lows in the mid-60s.

TOMORROW: Mostly sunny and warmer with highs near 90 and a heat index in the mid-90s.

EXTENDED: Winds will begin to shift to the east southeast between tonight and tomorrow, allowing temperatures to warm around 5 degrees from Monday's high temperatures. With slightly higher dew points, the heat index will rise near the mid-90s. An approaching cold front from the north will bring the potential for a few spotty showers and clouds across northern Missouri on Wednesday morning. Heat and humidity will allow for the atmosphere to become more unstable during the day, triggering scattered showers and storms along the front across the northern 1/3 of the state. There will be sufficient wind shear for a few storms to reach severe levels, with a few damaging wind gusts being the primary concern. The Storm Prediction Center has much of the region in a level 1/5 severe risk for this chance. Low level winds will increase moisture along the front on Wednesday night, increasing the potential for more widespread and slightly higher rainfall totals into Thursday morning. The front looks to stall across Mid-Missouri, bringing the potential for scattered storms to re-develop on Thursday. The front exits on Friday, leaving us slightly cooler, but not for long. The upper pattern begins to shift as an upper high pressure ridge builds back over the Plains, bringing temperatures back into the low 90s by the weekend, with more intense heat possible by mid-month.