Scattered Afternoon Storms; Rain Overnight

The muggy start this morning is a sign of things to come later today. That's right, rain will returning to the forecast again later today and tonight as a cold front approaches from the west. The front currently stretches from northwest Ohio to eastern Texas, and very heavy rainfall can be found directly ahead of the front. By this afternoon, the front should be pushing across eastern Arkansas, and this is when our rain chances will really increase. Before it rains, skies will be mostly cloudy this morning and early afternoon, but it will be warm again with highs topping out near 86. The temperature will actually feel like it's in the 90s again when you factor in the high dew points. It will also be another windy day with wind gusts approaching 25 mph at times this afternoon.

The heat and moisture should help boost instability, and a large magnitude of wind shear will allow for strong to isolated severe storms late this afternoon and early evening. A few scattered showers and thunderstorms may develop later this morning and this afternoon. Damaging winds and small hail will be the primary concerns given the unidirectional nature of forecast soundings and hodographs. The frontal boundary should push through the area after 6 p.m., but a band of moderate to heavy rain will still be found behind the front. This main band of rain will likely hold off until after 8 p.m., but it appears as though it will weaken as it moves east. The result of this is that the front will have undercut the rain, the main dynamics shoot to the north, and the environment becomes stable after the frontal passage. Still, some moderate rain may occur late tonight through sunrise Saturday. Once the front exits east, much cooler and drier weather will filter into the area. In fact, lows tomorrow morning will be near 56.

If you're headed to the homecoming game tomorrow, it would be a good idea to prepare for wet weather. Some lingering showers may stick around for tailgating and the first half of the game. I'm not expecting any heavy rain like a couple of weeks ago, but it will feel raw with light rain and temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s.