The end could be near.

The excessive heat warning that’s plagued the Midwest should break overnight at 1 a.m., which means things should get back to normal Thursday.

That’s good news for Austin, as the heat index reached 121 degrees on Monday and Tuesday.

While the National Weather Service in La Crosse doesn’t keep official heat index value records, Monday and Tuesday’s highs top a local database list that dates back to 1977.

Before this week, the previous high heat index for Austin, according to the database, was 118 on July 12, 1995, and the next highest was 111, recorded on July 24, 2005.

A cold front expected to come this weekend is moving into the area early, according to the National Weather Service.

“That’ll bring an end to the heat wave we’ve had this week,” said Tim Halbach, NWS meteorologist.

Today and Thursday should be sunny, although Thursday should be cooler with a high of 85 degrees.

There’s a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday, with a high of 87 degrees. Things could get hot Saturday as the heat index could make temps feel like they’re more than 100.