Unsettled and cool with some chances for hit-and-miss showers and storms

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) -The sky was clear enough for a beautiful sunrise this morning, but ever since, high clouds have increased in aerial coverage. This should continue to trend over the next 12 to 24 hours as some disturbances move closer to our area. We get to a high of 71 today.

While clouds may inhibit some warming, they will also hold in whatever warmth we gain today and allow for much warmer temperatures along the side of southeasterly winds that will be blowing at the time. These will be breezy, too, sometimes gusting to 25 mph.

We then move on to the possibility that some of us will see showers. Starting Thursday, aside from a very isolated and brief shower, most of us should stay dry because neither the upper-level energy nor the moisture at the surface will be available yet. However, as we get towards the morning hours on Thursday, more of each should be available to spark some showers as that disturbance slides in, just missing us to the south.

Because of this, our southeast counties are the ones favored for activity. Behind this, a more substantial wave of energy runs into warmer air as a ridge of high pressure to our south becomes more dominant. This will set the stage for some evening thunderstorms at dinner or after, with Northeast Wyoming seeing storms closer to that point. The thunderstorms will reach the Rapid City area around 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.

After this point, the strengthening ridge we have mentioned here should stabilize our weather pattern and allow the skies to clear, bringing us lower to mid-80s on Saturday in the lowlands along with upper 80s and perhaps 90s in the same areas on Sunday. In the Black Hills and the higher elevations near the Big Horns, we are most likely to see the 70s to at least the lower 80s return to the forecast, while clearer skies make for a pleasant end to the week.

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