Tracking a chilly and breezy Thursday

TONIGHT: Gradual clearing and cool with lows in the mid-upper 40s.

TOMORROW: Clouds return by afternoon, and strong winds will gust 20-25 mph from the northwest during the day. Highs in the mid-upper 50s.

EXTENDED: Cooler air moves in tonight behind an eastward-moving cold front that will bring in chilly temperatures for Thursday. Clouds move out overnight, leaving us with lows in the mid-40s by Thursday morning. A few clouds could keep temperatures in the upper 50s along with gusty westerly winds. As skies clear out on Thursday night, there could be a few areas that fall into the upper 30s by Friday morning. Friday is a bit warmer with highs in the mid-60s, with seasonably cool temperatures expected for high school football. Clouds start to build in on Saturday as a warm front moves in from the south during the day. This will pull in some more moisture and unstable air from the south, triggering scattered showers and storms by late afternoon and continued rain north of the front into Saturday night. The best chance for rain Saturday night into Sunday will likely be along and north of I-70. The associated cold front moves in late Sunday night into Monday, pulling in the last of the rain through Monday morning. Rain amounts with this round will total up to about an inch for the northern half of the area. Lesser amounts are likely farther south. Warmer temperatures in the mid-upper 70s are expected into early next week as the jet stream lifts well to our north, but another strong low pressure system will bring in a round of rain and storms early Wednesday, cooling us back down into the 50s and 60s to end next week. Total rainfall for the next 7 days will end up between 1-2" with the higher end amounts north of the I-70 corridor.