Tracking a warm and windy next two days, near record highs Wednesday

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and much warmer than normal with lows in the lower 40s.

TOMORROW: Increasing clouds and windy with highs in the low to mid-60s. Winds could gust from the south between 25-30 mph.

EXTENDED:  Gusty winds will begin to die down a bit overnight, but temperatures remain in the lower 40s heading into Tuesday morning. Clouds roll in tomorrow and winds begin to pick up, with gusts as high as 25-30 mph. High temperatures will likely remain a few degrees below a record in the afternoon but still reach the low to mid-60s. Wednesday will be the warmest and windiest day of the week with gusts up to 40 mph and highs in the lower 70s, so it's warm but not too enjoyable to be outside with winds whipping around all day. The record in Columbia on Tuesday and Wednesday is 70 degrees, so Wednesday is our best shot at topping that temperature. A cold front approaches the area on Wednesday, bringing a chance for a few showers and storms along a line that tracks across Mid-Missouri late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Right now the chance for severe weather is low given the lack of instability during that time of day. Behind the front we drop down into the lower 50s for Thursday, but winds die down. Another system to our south on Friday could send some showers to the southern half of the area, with cooler temperatures expected for the weekend. Highs on Saturday and Sunday remain in the low 40s with sunshine. We'll see another shot at rain or snow early next week, but the overall trend is to remain above average through Christmas.