KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Rosy sunrises and sunsets are the first sign of a stretched-out Francine impacting us here in Tennessee and Kentucky. For now the winds are calm and the low humidity feels amazing.

Rain returns in a thin and line band on Thursday afternoon. The better promise for more Francine-caused rain is Friday evening and into Saturday. We are slightly cooler and slightly drier after that.

Join us on the WVLT First Alert Weather app for iPhone or to stay informed on the go and between newscasts. We share custom videos, and you can receive our messages on the latest conditions and forecasts.

Right now the biggest thing in *local* weather is the haze and thin veil of clouds. Part of that is ozone, plus smoke from the Flint Gap Fire. Mostly, this is the outer bands from Francine, now a hurricane.

While the storm makes landfall along the southern Louisiana coastline, we will have a stiffening - but not severe - breeze out of the southeast early Thursday. Temps are still fairly warm, mostly in the lower 80s.

Friday brings a few more showers. The toughest call all forecast was just how high to take eventual rain coverage. We don’t want to over-promise rainfall in a drought situation and this is not a wash-out from Francine. Still, a good half inch could be realistic. There really is not a preferred zone for getting rain. We all have a fairly equal shot.

Saturday is most likely to be our most rainy coverage day. To reiterate, that does NOT mean it will rain all day. Still we are going to drop the high temps a smidgen for more clouds on Saturday.

Rain looks like a little more of a long-shot as Francine stalls over the Mississippi River by Sunday. If you have travel to West of Middle Tennessee late weekend, the rain could become quite heavy.

Then our attention turns to the east, as a subtropical low off the North Carolina coast could bring us a few clouds and slightly-cooler weather.