Thursday’s forecast may be the warmest the area’s been since mid-October, but it also could bring some severe weather with it.

The National Weather Service is calling for a high temperature of 68 degrees with periods of rain and thunderstorms likely. ABC 21 Meteorologist Caleb Chevalier tells WOWO News there’s a slight risk of the storms turning severe during the afternoon hours:

“That big warmup here in mid-March can provide some fuel for thunderstorms, with an incoming cold front for Thursday afternoon. The question is not if we’ll get the storms, but whether they will be severe. The potential is there.”

Outside of the thunderstorms, very strong wind gusts are expected during the day Thursday, with south gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour possible.