Southerly breezes will sweep in warm temperatures and high clouds today to the Lawrence area, says Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist.

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At 3:45 p.m., Lawrence’s temperature had climbed to 74 degrees, the humidity was 27 percent and winds were from the south at 18 mph, gusting to 31 mph.

This morning’s low was 37 degrees. The average low temperature for this date is 40 degrees. The record low was 18 degrees, set in 1944.

Today’s high temperature was expected to reach only 67 degrees, but temperatures reached into the 70s after 1 p.m.

The average high temperature for this date is 62 degrees. The record high for this date was 86 degrees, set in 1986.

Clouds will thicken up in the afternoon, with thunderstorms possible to the south of the Lawrence area, Schack said.

“I don’t think they’ll make it into our area this afternoon,” she said.

The chance for thunderstorms increases during the evening and overnight into Thursday morning, she said.

The best chance for thunderstorms will be Thursday afternoon and Thursday evening, she said.

“We could see a few strong to severe thunderstorms on Thursday,” Schack said. “The main threat would be some large hail.”

Thursday’s morning low temperature will be 55 degrees, with the high reaching 69 degrees, she said.

Friday’s morning low will be 44 degrees, with Friday’s high climbing to 60 degrees. Skies will be mostly cloudy, she said.