ST. LOUIS — Thursday is Opening Day for the St. Louis Cardinals. The weather pattern is transitioning to a more unsettled pattern heading into Thursday and into next week. Even though it will probably rain around the metro St. Louis area Thursday, the timing and where the heavier showers and possible thunderstorms will be will have a big impact on all of the festivities. 

Opening Day is considered a local holiday by many. With tens of thousands of people in downtown St. Louis, rain is not something you want in the forecast, but the rain chances are there. Warmer air is trying to return to the area Thursday. That process will help generate showers and a few rumbles of thunder into the early morning hours on Thursday. By 10 a.m., that area of showers is expected to be pushing away from St. Louis. If the clouds break enough, temperatures will climb into the lower 70s. 

Right now, the metro is in that area where a subtle shift could provide us with an outstanding weather afternoon for baseball or create more showers and some thunder after the game gets underway.

The threat for severe thunderstorms looks minimal, although a few of the stronger cells during the evening, most likely after the game is over, might produce a bit of hail. The stronger storms will shift farther north of I-70 during the overnight hours.

High Resolution Simulated Radar:

Our Weather Impact Alert continues for the weekend, but it is far from a washout. The chances of severe weather on Saturday have trended down while Sunday’s severe weather threat is still in play. 

As always there are questions on timing and the available severe weather ingredients for the weekend pattern. The Cardinals have games scheduled both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. While there are rain chances for both games, Sunday afternoon has a higher chance of being damp in addition to at least a conditional severe weather threat if the ingredients come together.