Watching the end of the week

Wanted to take some time and talk a little about the weather that is expected later this week and into the weekend.  While this afternoon will be beautiful, all eyes are watching the storm out west as it moves closer to the Stateline.  Earlier in the week, computer models were forecasting the cold front to come through late Thursday night/Friday morning.  Now, as the system has moved onshore we are starting to get a little better of an idea of what will happen as we get closer to the weekend (although there are still some differences).  The past couple of days, the front has been slowing because it is running parallel with winds in the upper level of the atmosphere.  When that happens, fronts don't typically move all that quickly.  Each day, the arrival of the cold front has been pushed back by a few hours.  As of this morning, the front is forecast to move through Friday afternoon.  With the front coming through later in the afternoon, the potential is there for stronger storms to develop late afternoon and into the evening.  As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has highlighted much of the Mississippi River Valley in a "Slight Risk" for Friday afternoon.  We'll continue to monitor the model runs as they come out today and tomorrow and have the latest information for you.