BROOKHAVEN  — Thunder and dark clouds are in the distance but don’t get your hopes up. National Weather Service has issued a forecast for rain this evening with the chance being better than 0 but not by much.

A brief rain ended a dry spell of about 20 plus days Friday in Lincoln County. It looks like there could be another rain in store Sunday afternoon. Coming into the weekend, there were 20 percent chances of rain Friday through Sunday with the chance increasing to 30 percent Monday and 40 percent Tuesday.

However the forecast has changed. Lincoln County now has a 40 percent chance of rain, meaning 40 percent of the county is likely to see rain today, before 10 p.m. Rain and a north by northwest wind could drop the low down to 72 degrees.

Monday is forecast to have a higher chance of rain with 60 percent chance of precipitation mostly after 4 p.m. The high will be 95 tomorrow and a heat index of 106. Monday night the temperature will drop to a low of 70 degrees as the chance of rain holds. A half to three quarters of an inch is possible tomorrow.

NWS Jackson additionally warns of severe storms with damaging wind gusts of 60 mph are possible Monday for our area. Tuesday’s high will drop to 90 degrees as the chance of rain holds at 60 percent. The low Tuesday night could hit 69 degrees.

Despite the forecasted rain, fire is still a danger for the area. Open burning should not be attempted as wildfires could rapidly develop. Mississippi Forestry Commission has issued a burn ban for Lincoln County and 42 other counties.

Please remember to heed local burn bans, dispose of cigarettes properly and do not allow chains on your trailer to drag along the roadway. Nine out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans. Remember what Smokey the Bear always says, “Only you can prevent wildfires.”