Tracking lingering warmth and sunshine

Wednesday has marked the hottest day of the year so far across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas, as temperatures peaked in the upper 80s to low 90s. Unseasonably warm and breezy conditions will linger into the evening with southeast winds at 15 to 25 mph and partly sunny skies. A 10% to 20% chance of stray t-storms arrives between 8 PM and 11 PM as a front passes through the area. Most will stay dry, with the best chance for an isolated thunderstorm north of HWY-36 to the Iowa border. Mostly clear skies will return late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, with lows falling into the mid to low 60s around sunrise. Sunshine prevails Thursday, along with gusty west winds at 20 to 30 MPH and highs in the low to mid 80s. Warm afternoons and mostly sunny skies are forecast to continue Friday and Saturday with highs in the low 80s to upper 70s. Isolated shower and t-storm chances return late Sunday, giving way to better chances for rain early next week as an active pattern develops regionally.