Heat headlines and stingy rain chances

New day, same pattern with another sneaky wave of clouds and showers. Today's helping hand from Mother Nature swept across areas a bit further east, or east of Hwy. 65. Where showers swept through, cooler highs were enjoyed; further west, hot temperatures ruled.

Friday is looking drier and hotter as the summer ridge noses northeast across the Ozarks. This should temporarily shut down the pattern that delivered sneaky rain chances the past couple of days.

Temperatures will be hot, and humidity levels are running higher. A Heat Advisory has been posted for Friday afternoon and evening with "feels like" temperatures as high as 106° during the afternoon.

Weekend weather won't offer much relief. Rain chances will remain very low with afternoon highs in the mid to upper 90s on Saturday. Cloud cover and isolated showers may be a bit more widespread on Sunday afternoon. Temperatures should still manage to climb into the mid-90s.

The lack of rain is starting to show up in the Drought Monitor with pockets of abnormally dry conditions. We haven't seen it this dry since the wildfires back in March.

A little help may be on the way early next week as a weak cool front approaches the area. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible each day, mainly in the afternoon and evening. The rain will remain scattered, but hopefully most locations will get some rain by Thursday when rain opportunities start to trail off again.

The boost in rain chances will come with a boost in cloud cover, likely easing the heat a bit next week.