Butler County saw a severe thunderstorm watch Sunday, a preview of Monday's less-severe outlook.

The service placed Butler and 14 other counties under a severe thunderstorm watch from 12:50 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Sultry conditions in the county and region made severe thunderstorms possible and even likely.

“It's fairly hot and humid,” said Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist for the service. “There's also a disturbance moving this way from the northwest.”

Hendricks said Sunday's conditions gave ample opportunity for pop-up storms. He said some in Mercer and Lawrence counties were hit hard by sudden downpours.

“Some people were getting an inch and a half of rain in a short amount of time,” Hendricks said.

Sunday's weather was just the beginning of a hazardous weather outlook spanning through Monday night.

But there's a break from the heat on the horizon. Much of the humidity should be carried off with Sunday's storms.

The service is forecasting a cold front coming through the middle part of the week with temperatures at night dipping as low as the 40s.