Warren County can look for severe weather and colder temperatures this weekend as a line of potential thunderstorms is predicted to move through the area Saturday ahead of a cold front that is expected to drop temperatures into the 20s by Sunday night.

Warren County Emergency Management director John Elfer said the system moving through Saturday presents a slight risk for severe weather.

“We have some chance for thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon into Saturday night; some of them could be severe,” said Nicholas Fenner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Jackson office, “Especially in the area along the Mississippi River. Based on what we’re looking at currently, it wouldn’t surprise us if we see some storms producing damaging wind gusts or even some hail or an isolated tornado. It won’t be a prolonged system; it will be in and out, but we could possibly pick up a quick inch to 2 inches.”

He said, however, the system would not be a repeat of the storms that ravaged the county at the end of November because of the present climate conditions in this area.

Fenner said predictions for the weekend call for warm temperatures Friday into Saturday, with highs reaching into the 70 during the day Saturday. “Our lows wont be too bad coming into Saturday morning, but then we’ve got a cold front coming in behind that rain Saturday night and temperatures will drop through the day on Sunday, so we’ll probably see lows in the 50s to 60s Saturday night until midnight and then they’ll drop below freezing shortly after sunset on Sunday.”