Warm, Windy Weekend; Chance Storms.

Advise keeping a close eye on the sky this weekend as there will be several opportunities for storms, some of which may become severe. Right now, conditions suggest the better chance will be late Sunday or overnight but there will also be at least a slight chance late Saturday and into Saturday night.

A weak frontal boundary has moved through much of the state today followed by lots of sunshine, light northerly winds, and somewhat drier air. That boundary will dissipate tonight allowing our winds to return to a SE direction by morning followed by stronger southerly winds during the day and even stronger southerly winds on Sunday. That will bring more moisture back into the state which together with a stronger system aloft approaching from the west will set the stage for a chance of showers/storms.

Fair skies are expected for the evening and much of the overnight hours, although there may be some patchy stratus clouds or perhaps some fog by early morning. That will be quickly burning off leaving partly cloudy skies for much of Saturday. Temperatures will be near 60 to start the day and near 90 for the afternoon high. Southerly winds will be quite gusty at 25-30 mph or more at times. Any showers/storms that can form would be most likely over the more NW counties late in the day and into the night. Again, there is a risk of some of those becoming severe with primarily a wind/hail threat.

Sunday will see even stronger southerly winds up to 40 mph or more at times under partly cloudy skies. Temperatures will be near 70 to start the day and will be in the upper 80s to near 90 to end it. A stronger cold front will then be entering the state that evening and moving eastward to our side of the state by Monday morning. Widespread showers/storms are expected ahead of, along, and behind this particular boundary. That could result in some severe weather late Sunday or overnight although our best chance of rain looks to be on Monday and not ending till Tuesday morning. The 5 day QPF map on the right suggests up to an inch of rain will be possible by the time it is all said and done.

That system will be followed by noticeably cooler conditions for Tuesday and for several more days after that. In fact, morning lows in the 40s and daytime highs in the 60s to low 70s will be quite a contrast to what we will have this weekend. As the next two maps on the right also show, temperatures will likely remain below normal through the rest of next week and through that following weekend. Unfortunately, our prospects for any more moisture appear very limited during that period as well.

So, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot