Tracking today’s round of storms, and winter air for the weekend
TODAY: Thursday starts a bit warmer than Wednesday, with temperatures in the 60s this morning. We'll see a warm up into the mid-70s by early this afternoon, where clouds will start to pick up ahead of an approaching cold front. Winds ahead of the front will be sustained near 10-20 mph, and gust as high as 30 mph from the southwest. Showers and thunderstorms will arrive as soon as 1 p.m. for our western most counties, and push east to arrive near Hwy 63 north of I-70 around 3-4 p.m. with a slightly later arrival for folks west of Jefferson City south of I-70. We expect this to be a weakening and slowing system, so the initial round of showers and thunderstorms may begin to stall into the evening, becoming a slower line of showers that lingers into the overnight. Where the line stalls, greater rain totals will be found. This is where we have the best chance at nearly 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. As of now, it looks like this swath of greatest rainfall will fall along a line from Pettis, to Macon counties.
TONIGHT: The showers will gradually drift east as they weaken, leaving lesser rain totals east of Hwy 63. Rainfall will likely continue overnight. Cold air will move in overnight as breezy northwest winds fill in behind the front. Temperatures fall into the low 30s by early Friday.
EXTENDED: Friday looks cold, with highs in the low 40s, and enough wind to make it feel like low 30s Friday afternoon. Saturday is even colder, with actual temperatures forecast in the upper 30s, and wind chill values making it feel like 20s for most of the day. Expect minimal improvement on Sunday as temperatures climb back into the low 40s. On Monday and Tuesday, we find ourselves north of a passing low, with cold enough temperatures to bring a chance for our first mixed precipitation of the season. Still, a small temperature change could turn this to all rain, so it's something to watch closely. Overall, next week is looking cool, with daily lows in the 20s, and highs in the 40s through Wednesday.
