Tracking scattered showers and storms leading to a weekend cool down
TODAY: Rain becomes a bit more intermittent by the afternoon, with a few rumbles of thunder possible. Generally, most of us will dry out by the late afternoon and evening. Some flashes of sun through the clouds will be possible this afternoon. Today's our last day of warmth, with highs in the 70s.
TONIGHT: Dry weather sticks around until nearly sunrise Thursday. Temperatures will stay warm with south winds. We'll be in the 70s and 60s overnight with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies.ADVERTISING
EXTENDED: Clouds and some spotty showers return along a cold front Friday morning, likely just before sunrise in the northwest, and closer to 9 a.m. near Columbia and Jefferson City. The front will clear the region to the southeast by 4-5 p.m. Some showers will linger behind the front, and a rumble of thunder is possible along the front, especially near I-44. Still, don't expect much rain from Friday's front. Activity will be light and spotty. The bigger sensible impact will be the large influx of cold air along the front. Winds will pick up as the front passes, into the 10-20 mph range at times, and drop temperatures from the 60s, into the 40s by the afternoon. This will not be the case for those southeast of Jefferson City, but many near and northwest of Columbia likely don't warm much, if at all thanks to the timing of the front. The front will stall to our southeast, trapping moisture and not allowing it to fully clear. This keeps rain chances in the forecast through the weekend. We'll cool and rain on Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the 40s and lows in the low 40s/upper 30s. Skies will likely clear on Monday as surface high pressure inches in. This looks to be enough to drop temperatures below freezing by Monday morning, and keep highs in the 40s. By Tuesday morning, we're centered under the high and starting in the 20s. Then on the other side of high pressure, we should gradually get highs closer to normal later in the week. Still, it continues to look like a widespread hard freeze is likely to start next week.
