Rounds of rain return late Friday

TGIF! Most of the Ozarks is off to a pleasant start. I say "most" because our far northern counties are much cooler, thanks to a stationary front stalling out north of Springfield.

The front will shift back to the north on Friday, but thickening clouds will hamper the warmup. Temperatures will be cool with highs in the low to mid-50s with breezy southeast winds providing an additional chill to the air.

Our next chance of rain is lining up for Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. Light showers or sprinkles will show up over far Western Missouri by early evening Friday. The overnight hours will turn wet as waves of showers move in. Rain or drizzle will continue into Saturday morning before tapering off by early afternoon. The remainder of the day will remain cloudy east of Hwy. 65 where some drizzle will remain possible. Some sun will develop over Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas.

This will be a soaking rainfall with most areas picking up between a quarter and an inch and a half of rain. The heavier amounts will fall to the east.

Another front will sweep through Monday with a chance for showers and possibly some thunder Sunday night into Monday morning. Temperatures into early next week will run above normal but will trend chillier through the middle of the week when another storm will move through with another round of rain and possibly some thunder.

Looking ahead through Christmas, the Canadian pipeline will open back up later next week with cold air flowing through the weekend before shutting off again in the days leading up to Christmas. There’s no sign of significant winter weather through Christmas and a white Christmas is not expected. The pattern looks quiet and seasonable for Christmas Day.