Tracking heavy rain moving in Thursday, rain and snow possible Friday morning

TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy and breezy with lows in the low 30s.

TOMORROW: Partly to mostly cloudy with showers moving in by mid-late afternoon. Rain becomes widespread and heavy at times, especially overnight. Highs in the lower 50s.

EXTENDED: A cold front moving through Mid-Missouri this evening will bring cooler temperatures by Thursday morning as lows fall off into the low 30s. Cloud cover is patchy into Thursday, with temperatures rising to the low 50s by mid-afternoon. Low pressure is expected to track across southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, bringing widespread rain late in the day through the overnight hours. Showers could be heavy at times, with localized flooding possible along and south of I-44 through Friday afternoon. As cooler air wraps around low pressure as it moves northeast across Mid-Missouri on Friday morning, there could be a changeover to very wet snowfall from about 7:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. Snow to liquid ratios will be low, meaning it will come down looking very heavy and could melt on contact with road surfaces for awhile as temperatures will be just above freezing for most of the area. However, grassy or elevated surfaces could end up with at least a dusting to an inch of snow accumulation. Road problems are not anticipated into the evening as temperatures reach the low 40s by Friday afternoon after precipitation exits. Winds could gust to 40 mph through the day on Friday, making for a windy end to the week. Rain amounts will be in the 1-2.5" range for our area, with 3"+ amounts possible for locations south. The weekend is dry and pleasant with highs in the low 50s Saturday and low 60s with sunshine on Sunday. Next week starts off mild with highs in the upper 60s Monday, but another storm system could bring showers between Tuesday and Wednesday and temperatures drop into the upper 40s by next Wednesday.