Aside from a veil of smoke in the upper air, yesterday was nice. Today will be similar with temperatures a degree or two warmer. Some smoke will be seen in the skies today but clouds will be nonexistent. Like yesterday, the smoke will not impact air quality at the surface.
Wednesday will be the warmest day of the week featuring late summer temperatures in the upper 80s. We are in need of rain and we may get some as now tropical storm soon-to-be hurricane Francine strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico.
Francine is forecast to make landfall on the Louisiana coastline Wednesday and lift northward through Arkansas Thursday. This track would bring rain into Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri by Thursday evening into Friday morning.
The remnants of Francine will likely slow down and possibly stall over Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois thanks to high pressure to the north therefore blocking the storm’s getaway route. That ridging will also have an impact on the exact track and could result in more of a westerly track. This would be good news given how dry it’s gotten in recent weeks. As it stands, a soaking rain is expected mainly east of Hwy. 65 Thursday night into Friday, but areas further west could see some beneficial rainfall as well.