Yesterday, we tied a record high at 90°. Today, we will likely break the old May 12th record in Joplin (88° in 1963) with a forecast high of 91° this afternoon. Expect heat index values in the middle 90s and a lot of sunshine through your Thursday. Overnight, we’ll still be warm and humid as clouds increase ahead of rain chances into tomorrow.

Scattered storms could begin right before sunrise Friday morning, so tomorrow could have a rainy start. Showers and thunderstorms could pop up through the day in any area, so keep the umbrella handy. We will have to monitor the storms that pop up Friday evening and into the overnight hours, as those could have a severe wind and hail threat for affected areas.

Note that we will see a lot of dry time through the 7-day forecast. We’re just monitoring a few chances for showers and storms since we will be entering a weather pattern that will support the formation of thunderstorms. The best chances for that right now look to be early Sunday and again on Tuesday. Temperatures will remain in the 80s for a while.