Tracking a cool down Thursday, weekend rain

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and chilly with lows in the upper 30s.

TOMORROW: Partly sunny and cooler with highs in the mid-upper 50s.

EXTENDED: A cold front works its way south overnight, dropping us into the mid-50s for highs tomorrow. Despite the cool down, we can expect sunshine Thursday with clouds returning on Friday along with highs back into the 60s. A warm front lifts north through the area on Friday, pulling in warm air and more moisture on Saturday ahead of a cold front that will quickly move east/southeast during the day. Given the higher dew points and bit of instability, there will be a chance for a few thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon/evening, but the severe risk will be limited by a warmer layer just above the ground that we call the cap. That could keep storms from developing, but if the cap breaks during the day, a couple of the storms could bring isolated strong wind gusts, especially north of Highway 24. The front works south on Saturday into Sunday, setting up along or south of I-44. North of that boundary, we only make it to the mid-50s. Another area of low pressure tracks along the front on Sunday into Sunday night, bringing a round of more steady rainfall through Sunday evening. Depending on how long this feature sticks around, any lingering precipitation could turn over to a wet snow into Monday. Right now the impacts due to that appear low given how warm we have been, but we'll keep an eye on it. Total weekend precipitation looks to fall around 1". Next week is trending cooler, with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s and 30s.

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