THURSDAY EVENING: Passing showers will be possible through late afternoon and evening, but the heavier rain will lift northwest with the warm front overnight. Winds will pick up overnight, with gusts reaching 30 mph or more after midnight. Temperatures will hold in the 60s overnight.

FRIDAY: A line of showers and storms will push through the state ahead of a cold front Friday. Those storms reach the Alabama/Mississippi line between 6-9 am, and push east rapidly through the morning and early afternoon, moving east of our area by 2-4 pm.

There remains some question as to how severe these storms will get as better upper-air dynamics lift north and instability appears marginal for severe weather. Still, incredibly high wind shear and a strong low-level jet will support line segments that could produce damaging straight line winds and perhaps tornadoes. Even after storms move to our east and the sun returns, damaging wind gusts will remain likely through the day, with non-thunderstorm wind gusts potentially exceeding 50 mph in some spots.

Downed trees and power lines are likely through the day Friday.

WEEKEND: Sunny and pleasant afternoons are in store Saturday and Sunday. Highs in the 60s and 70s. Both mornings appear cool, with lows in the 40s.

NEXT WEEK: Temperatures quickly rebound as we head into the work-week, with highs returning to the upper 70s by Tuesday. We’ll stay dry through Monday, but scattered showers and storms return to the forecast by mid-week. Looking beyond the 7 day, a pattern flip to cooler than average temperatures appears likely by mid-March.

Storm Team 7 Day