Big rains ahead from Wednesday through Friday. The heaviest of the rain will fall Wednesday night and Thursday; total rain through Friday will be in the 2.5-3.5" range. Temps will rise through Wednesday night, on their way to the 60s for Thursday. Dramatically colder air pours in Thursday night and Friday when highs will only be in the low 40s. We can’t rule out some snowflakes mixed in with the raindrops late Thursday night and early Friday.

Wednesday

• Rain begins by mid-day.
• Highs in the mid 40s.

Wednesday night

• Periods of rain, heavy at times. Thunderstorms possible.
• Temps rise into the 50s.

Thursday

• Periods of rain, heavy at times. Thunderstorms possible.
• Highs in the mid 60s.

Thursday night

• Occasional light rain, possibly mixed with snow later on.
• Lows in the mid to upper 30s.

Friday

• Occasional light rain, possibly mixed with snow early. Windy and much colder.
• Highs in the low 40s

Saturday

• Mostly sunny.
• Highs in the mid 40s, cooler near the lake.

Sunday

• Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain.
• Highs in the low 50s, cooler near the lake.

This week is Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin. With this comes a statewide tornado drill on Thursday. The National Weather Service will issue a TEST tornado WATCH at 1 p.m. and a TEST tornado WARNING at 1:45 p.m. The drill will end at 2 p.m.

The National Weather Service says the tests "will not be sent as a Wireless Emergency Alert on mobile devices such as smart phones."

More on Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin is available here.