Tracking a warm and windy Wednesday ahead of strong storms overnight

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy and breezy with lows in the mid-60s.

TOMORROW: Partly cloudy and windy as south gusts get up to 35 mph. Highs reach the upper 70s to low 80s.

EXTENDED: Tonight will be warm again with strong south winds keeping temperatures in the mid-60s overnight. Tomorrow, we'll see a few more clouds with temps up near 80 yet again before the cold front arrives, and winds up to 30 mph. An ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Alert Day is in effect Wednesday night through Thursday morning for the potential of severe weather. Isolated storms will be possible by mid-late evening across western Missouri, but the main line of storms doesn't enter our viewing area until around 11pm-12am. Storms track east overnight, weakening as they move east of our area before dawn. The main threat will be strong winds up to 60 mph, but 1" hail and a few weak tornadoes can't be ruled out. We'll be dramatically cooler with morning temperatures in the upper 40s on Halloween morning, and highs in the upper 50s to around 60. Thursday night is the coldest of the week with lows in the upper 30s by Friday morning. We'll end the week dry on Friday, but rain chances ramp up again for the weekend as multiple disturbances ride through into early next week. Rain totals between Wednesday and the weekend will add up to 3-5", likely making at least a small dent in the drought situation. Temperatures remain in the 60s from the weekend into early next week.