Today and the rest of the week will be mostly sunny and cooler than you’d expect for the middle of August. High temps will range from the mid 70s in Sioux Falls to the low 80s across central South Dakota this afternoon. Tomorrow will actually be the warmest day of the week with high temps in the low to mid 80s. The rest of the week and the weekend will be cooler with highs only reaching the mid to upper 70s.

While most of the week will be dry, I do have a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday afternoon, Friday night and Saturday.

I know that temperatures in the 70s hardly qualify for “dog days of summer” and it could be a while before we get there. Our long-range models keep temps at or below average through most of August and then bring the real heat back by Labor Day weekend. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Unfortunately today will not be ideal for viewing the solar eclipse. If you are in Aberdeen or Pierre, you’ll have a better chance because there’ll be a few more breaks in the clouds, but Sioux Falls will be mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. There may, however, be a few breaks in the clouds so don’t give up. Also, I know you don’t need one more person telling you not to look directly at the sun… but don’t look directly at the sun!

We have a special section dedicated to the eclipse at our website, go to www.ksfy.com/eclipse.

Now the weather: Scattered thunderstorms are possible this afternoon into this evening and a couple of storms could be strong to severe across southeastern South Dakota eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and southern Minnesota. Hail, wind even a tornado will be possible. High temps will reach the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon.

The rest of the week will be mostly sunny and dry with highs in the mid to upper 70s. There is a slight chance of scattered storms late Friday night into Saturday morning. The rest of the weekend will be dry with highs in the low 80s.