 The northwest will still remain on the comfortable side with highs in the 70s and 80s, but this heat will be building northward for the rest of the week into the weekend with excessive heat watches already in place. Meanwhile, a cold front will be moving eastward through the Great Lakes and southward to the Ohio Valley and Central Plains. This will spark more gusty thunderstorms today from western New York into Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, especially during the afternoon hours. This front has already had a history of producing severe storms,