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Rain chances may go up for northern and eastern Oklahoma on Thursday.

The National Weather Service said areas east of Interstate 35 will have the best shot at showers and thunderstorms late Thursday as a storm system and cold front move through the area. Warm air in the middle layers of the atmosphere will deter thunderstorm development in western and central Oklahoma, forecasters said.

A fire weather watch continued for western counties, which could see an elevated fire danger as winds increase behind the front.

On Wednesday, skies were partly cloudy and temperatures were well above average highs for late March. Daytime highs ranged from 71 degrees in Bartlesville to 85 degrees in Lawton. Muskogee and Tulsa reported daytime temperatures of 73 degrees, while Guthrie and Oklahoma City saw the mercury peak at 80 degrees, forecasters said.

Skies should be partly to mostly cloudy Thursday and Friday, with temperatures reaching the 70s and 80s again on Thursday. On Thursday night, northern Oklahoma has a chance of showers and thunderstorms and southeastern Oklahoma has a slight chance, forecasters said. Lows should range from the 30s in the Panhandle to around 60 in extreme southeastern Oklahoma.

That area of the state will see the best chance of storms on Friday. Highs should cool into a range from the middle 50s in the Panhandle to the mid-70s in extreme southeastern Oklahoma, according to the weather service.

The extended weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies on Saturday and a slight chance of showers and storms in extreme southeast Oklahoma and a better chance in northern Oklahoma. Highs should reach the 60s and 70s and lows should range from the mid-30s in the Panhandle to near 50 in the southeast, forecasters said.

Mostly cloudy conditions are expected on Sunday and Monday, with a chance of showers and storms in eastern Oklahoma on Sunday and a better chance statewide on Monday.

Highs should range from the 50s in the northwest to the middle 70s in the southeast on Sunday. Lows should range from the 30s in the Panhandle to the 60s in the southeast, forecasters said.

Highs on Monday will cool into the 50s and 60s and lows should fall into the 30s and 40s.