Hot through Saturday before an unsettled pattern returns

Meteorologist Sam Lucey has a look at the week ahead

After a fairly warm night tonight, Friday will feature plenty of sunshine with only an isolated afternoon thunderstorm possible. High temperatures will climb into the lower 90s, but with the humidity, it will feel closer to 105 degrees during the hottest part of the afternoon.

Rain chances increase a bit more on Saturday as scattered showers and thunderstorms develop during the afternoon and evening. While there will still be plenty of dry hours, any storms that form could produce brief heavy rain, frequent lightning, and gusty winds.

The biggest change arrives Sunday as a more unsettled pattern takes over. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected Sunday through at least Tuesday, with daily rain chances looking very likely. Temperatures will also cool slightly, with afternoon highs settling into the upper 80s to near 90 degrees.

Current outlooks suggest most communities will receive anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rainfall between Sunday and Tuesday, with locally higher amounts possible where thunderstorms repeatedly move over the same locations. There is still some uncertainty regarding exactly where the heaviest rainfall will set up, but beneficial rainfall looks likely across much of the area.

Rain chances remain elevated through the middle of next week, although they should gradually become more scattered by Wednesday and Thursday.