Weather Alert Day: Tracking storms with strong winds and hail by late Saturday afternoon

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day for the potential of severe storms on Saturday afternoon through mid-evening.

Watch live coverage of warnings in the player.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Isolated storms have already started to develop along the cold front across southwest Missouri, bringing golf ball to tennis ball sized hail. Storms will continue to become more widespread through about 7:00 p.m. before pressing east. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 7:00 p.m. for much of Mid-Missouri for the threat of baseball size hail and winds between 60-70 mph.

SETUP:

Scattered showers or storms early on Saturday will keep any severe weather at bay until late afternoon. Temperatures manage to make it to about 80 degrees, allowing the atmosphere to recharge after the morning rain. The cold front will trigger isolated to scattered storms capable of large hail before transitioning to more of a wind threat as the system moves east.

TIMING:

As the cold front moves in from the west, we'll see isolated strong storms developing between 3-5:00 p.m. for areas along Highway 65 and near the Lake of the Ozarks. Some of these storms could produce hail up to at least quarter size, with the potential for more widespread severe weather across far southern Missouri into Arkansas. Storms will congeal into a line that will bring the potential of strong to damaging winds between 6-8:00 p.m. The severe threat will diminish to the east by around 9:00 p.m. as cooler air starts to move in from the northwest. Scattered showers could linger overnight into Sunday morning along with much cooler air to close out the weekend.

IMPACTS:

Storms that develop ahead of the front will have the potential of large hail before combining into a line that will move quickly east. Winds could reach 50-60 mph, especially along and east of Highway 63. The Storm Prediction Center has much of Mid-Missouri in a level 3 out of 5 severe weather risk, meaning several severe storms are possible.

PREPARE:

If you have plans that will take you outdoors on Saturday, make sure to have a way to get indoors before storms approach and stay aware if any alerts are issued for your area. Keep your NOAA weather radio plugged in and download the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App to get free watches, warnings, and lightning notifications to your current location.