Tracking the return of rain this weekend

Today: Cloudy and breezy with highs rebounding to the 70s. Storms move in late afternoon with gusty winds up to 35 mph overnight.

Tomorrow: Cooler as we start off in the upper 30s; highs recover to the mid-50s with sunny skies for most. Widespread heavy rain creeps up from the south in the evening with amounts between 1-1.5".

Extended: Given higher dew points and an extreme amount of wind shear, there's a conditional threat for a couple strong storms toward late afternoon and evening Saturday, but the lack of instability and presence of a temperature inversion may keep potential storms isolated. The highest threat still looks to be centered across Iowa. As cold air rushes in at the end of the weekend, there could be some lingering precipitation that briefly turns over to light snowfall Monday morning. There shouldn't be more than a dusting on the grass for the northern half of the area. Most of next week is quiet and seasonable, but another front on the leading edge of an upper level low pressure system will bring a chance for more precipitation (potentially wintry) Thursday into Friday. Behind that front, northwest winds aloft will send in some unseasonably cold air as temperatures fall to the 30s for highs by Friday.