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Unsettled End of Week Followed By Comfortable Weekend

By Geoff Bansen

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Today, Thursday May 15, 2014, will be a warm, muggy day. Early morning fog will eventually lift, leaving skies cloudy. We expect sun to mix in by the afternoon, with highs reaching the low 80. The daytime heating coupled with the unstable air mass in place could lead to some convection later today, so a stray afternoon pop-up thunderstorm can't be ruled out. Tonight, clouds thicken and the threat for showers and thunderstorms becomes more likely.

WATCH: Kate's Thursday Forecast

*Flash Flood Watch in effect for Friday*

Friday looks to be a total soaker. A slow moving cold front off to the west is bringing with it lots of moisture, and this could certainly lead to some moderate flooding of creeks/streams and roadways for tomorrow. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for most of the day tomorrow. It's going to be a downright nasty day, with cooler temperatures and gusty winds out of the southwest.

The heaviest rain looks to stay off to the north and west, but it is trending eastward. I would not be surprised if some of those heavy bands impact our area. The models had the heaviest bands staying west for the major rainmaker from a few weeks ago, but that too continued to trend eastward and drenched the tri-state area. We're generally expecting 1-2", but locally higher amounts are possible.

The weekend reprieve is just around the corner! It's actually going to feel like spring. Skies will clear Saturday morning and the sun returns for most of the weekend, with a slight chance of a stray shower – although the surface low pressure will have moved away, its upper level partner will be lagging behind it, which could spring a popup shower over the weekend. Other than that, conditions look great. Temperatures will be seasonable to even slightly below average, with cool Canadian air ushering in behind Friday's cold front. Expect low 70s both days.

Today in Weather History

1834 - The Northern Atlantic Coast States were in the midst of their greatest May snowstorm of record. The hills around Newbury, VT, were covered with two to three feet of snow.

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