Tracking a relatively cool weekend ahead of a dramatic warm up next week

TODAY: Friday is another bright and mild day, with highs forecast near 60. North winds return late in the day behind a weak cold front from Canada, but it won't arrive soon enough to impact the majority of our day.

TONIGHT: This front arrives near the dinner hour, increasing clouds, and cooling us into the low 30s by Saturday morning.

EXTENDED: Starting in the 30s, we'll climb into the 50s for highs thanks to north winds for much of the day, despite abundant sunshine. This is temporary, though, as winds from the south return Saturday afternoon. This will put our temperatures in the upper 30s Sunday morning, with highs expected near 70 on Sunday. The warmth continues to settle in early next week, with highs forecast in the upper 70s to near 80 both Monday and Tuesday. This warmth also comes with moisture and potentially enough instability for thunderstorms on Tuesday. Some hints of enough instability, shear, and moisture for strong thunderstorms are in the forecast. It's well too far in advance to know specifics on what to expect and where, but the signal for severe potential from Chicago to Tulsa and everywhere in-between is showing up in the forecast. Let that be the day you pay attention to in the forecast as we get closer, but this does NOT mean we WILL see severe weather, as there's plenty of time for the forecast to change. What IS likely, is that we will be well warmer than average Monday through Tuesday, with cooler weather expected Wednesday and Thursday, with breezy conditions all along the way.