Showers and thunderstorms are expected to roll into the Weather First area on Friday evening followed by a much colder and breezy weekend ahead.

Temperatures on Friday will be near records for the day as highs are expected to climb into the lower-to-middle 70s which is more typical of late May. It’ll be a blustery day with a southerly wind gusting up to 40 mph at times.

A potent storm system will swing through by Friday evening leading to showers and thunderstorms. They’ll develop across portions of southwest and central Iowa during the late afternoon hours and race northeast getting into North Iowa likely sometime after 6:00 PM and into Southeast Minnesota sometime after 7:00 PM. A strong thunderstorm is possible with damaging wind gusts (60+ mph) the main threat. Although some thunderstorms may get some hail.

Showers and thunderstorms will end by late evening. However, as the system pushes overhead, additional showers are possible late in the overnight.

The system will track into North-Central Wisconsin by Saturday with wraparound moisture and energy leading to the chance of light showers, however as colder air builds in, temperatures will drop into the 30s with the chance of snow showers late in the afternoon and evening. Little to no accumulation is expected. It’ll be a breezy day with a southeast-to-west wind gusting up to 35 mph at times.

The system is long gone by Sunday as sunshine returns, but it’ll be chilly with high temperatures near or in the lower 40s. The wind will continue to be breezy with gusts up to 25 mph at times out of the northwest.

Warmer air arrives heading into next week with highs near 60° on St. Patrick’s Day.