When to expect storms near St. Louis on Thursday

ST. LOUIS — High temperatures today in the St. Louis metro area's urban heat island will reach the mid-90s with the heat index rising to around 100 this afternoon. The rest of the area will be in the 90s, all with sunny skies and a warm breeze.

A weak front will trigger a band of scattered strong to severe storms across extreme northeast Missouri into central Illinois. These storms will develop toward the south and west late in the evening and overnight. Storms will be strongest north of St. Louis, where there is a Level 2 (out of 5) risk of damaging winds and large hail. There is actually a Level 3 risk just north of St. Louis.

Storms weaken as they approach I-70. The timing of these storms will be between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Thursday. The fading storms will then drift south-southwestward over the rest of the region after midnight and disappear before sunrise.

Midsummer heat and humidity will persist even after Thursday night's storms. Temperatures will drop slightly on Friday but will begin to climb back into the 90s for the weekend.

Maximum heat index values ​​will reach or exceed 100 on Sunday. Currently, temperatures appear to remain below record levels. The records for the end of this week are as follows: Wednesday (98 in 2016), Thu (100 in 2022), Friday (99 in 2022), Saturday (101 in 1952), Sunday (100 in 1950).