EAU CLAIRE — Friday will bring what forecasters expect to be near record temperatures — and the area’s first severe weather risk of 2025.

The National Weather Service expects Friday’s high to be in the low 70s, just short of the record 76 degrees recorded in 2012. Winds from the southeast will pump warm, humid air into the region ahead of a cold front. Gusts could reach 30 mph.

That front will bring rain, with a quarter-inch to half an inch expected Friday night, and it will continue into Saturday. That’s when things could get tricky, with a chance of a rain/snow mix changing to snow Saturday night.

But meteorologists have been watching Friday for some time. The NWS’ Storm Prediction Center identified it as a day to watch last weekend, issuing an outlook seven days in advance. That’s unusually early for a center that prefers to issue such outlooks only three days out.

The Chippewa Valley is currently in the marginal risk category, the lowest level of the five used to gauge severe risk. It indicates some storms could become severe, but they will be isolated. But the slight risk category, which suggests somewhat more widespread storms, ends halfway between Eau Claire and La Crosse. It wouldn’t take a large shift to change the outlook.

The greatest risk is a large area that runs from northern Illinois to central Mississippi, including parts of several other states. Forecasters believe numerous severe storms are possible, with some that could spawn tornadoes.

After the rain moves out temperatures will drop steeply. Sunday’s high will be in the upper 30s. The cooldown will be brief, though, with Monday rebounding into the 50s.