Summer-like warmth to end the week, then much cooler with rain and possibly snow and ice this weekend

The warming trend continues as Thursday’s temperatures have reached the lower 60s across southern Minnesota and Iowa. Friday will be even warmer with record warmth likely Friday afternoon as highs surge into the upper 70s to around 80 degrees.

A front will push through north Iowa and southern Minnesota late Thursday night into Friday morning and there is a slim chance of a few showers or even a thunderstorm popping up in the wee hours of Friday morning. It’s possible that a rumble of thunder might give you an early wake-up Friday morning.

A more potent storm system moves through the region this weekend. Rain will begin around the middle of the day to the early afternoon Saturday. It’s not looking to be a heavy rain at first, but rain will continue through Saturday evening into the night, providing a decent soak for many of us.

Colder air will come with this weekend’s system as well, making for a transition of rain to sleet and snow late Saturday into Sunday morning. There are some huge uncertainties with this storm system, and an accumulation of snow is possible Sunday. However, at this time it’s not possible to nail down any specifics on if we’ll get snow or how much accumulates.

Next week will start out chilly with highs in the 30s Monday and only a slight increase in temperatures Tuesday.