Friday was shaping up as the third and final round of severe weather this week across north central Wisconsin, with a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 5 PM and a tornado watch issued for most of central Wisconsin until 8 p.m. The region remained under a First Alert Weather Day as storms were expected to bring hail, strong wind gusts, heavy rain and a few tornados through Friday afternoon and evening.
The storm threat carried extra weight because several counties were already under a Flood Watch, with rivers still running high and thunderstorms capable of dropping 1-2+ inches of rain in some areas by very late Friday. Highs were expected to reach the low to mid-70s for most of the area, with upper-70s possible farther south, before conditions changed fast after the storms moved out.
A cold front was expected to sweep through north central Wisconsin behind the storms, sending temperatures close to freezing by Saturday morning and keeping a light wintry mix to snow in play for some communities. Saturday was forecast to stay chilly, with highs in the upper-30s and low-40s and wind gusts as high as 35-40 MPH, before Sunday turned partly cloudy with highs in the low to mid-40s.
The break should not last long. Forecasters said precipitation was unlikely from Sunday onward through most of next week, and warmer weather was expected to return by Tuesday next week, with mainly sunny skies and highs back in the upper-60s and low-70s. For north central Wisconsin, the immediate question is not whether the weather will turn, but how much rain falls before the front clears the area and how quickly rivers can handle it.