Slight rain chances, cool and dry weekend ahead

Mostly clear and hazy conditions Thursday will give way to increasing clouds and a slight chance of thunder showers early Friday, as a cold front sweeps across the region bringing a reinforcing shot of below average temperatures to last through the weekend.

Wildfire smoke continues to result in patchy haze across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas Thursday. Lingering haze and mostly sunny skies this afternoon will be followed by partly cloudy conditions and lows in the mid 50s after midnight. A 20% chance of isolated thunder showers will develop before dawn Friday, and continue through the afternoon as a cold front pushes through the area. Highs Friday will only reach the upper 60s with partly cloudy skies and northwest breezes at 5 to 10 mph. Partly to mostly sunny skies and below average temperatures persist through the weekend with highs in the low to mid 70s and lows in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees Saturday and Sunday.