Good Friday bloggers,
The storm system from yesterday has exited, leaving a calm and comfortable Friday morning. There are patches of dense fog (because we finally had rain), but overall it is clear ,and it is so clear we can see the crescent moon next to Venus.
We had some decent rain in many locations on Thursday. The heaviest rain occurred along and east of Interstate 35 where amounts were mostly .50"-1.50". There were some amounts that got to 2"-4" of rainfall between Sedalia, Missouri, to south of Warsaw, Missouri.
So, we still need more rainfall as drought conditions are increasing on the latest Drought Monitor. Moderate drought areas are increasing, which is a level 1 of 4. The yellow, abnormally dry, is 1 rung below a level 1 drought. Now, the latest Drought Monitor does not include the rain from Wednesday and Thursday.
Southern Missouri is in a severe to extreme drought, which is the western edge of a rapidly growing drought in the Midwest and Tennessee Valley.
If you notice, there are little to no drought conditions across Kansas and Nebraska. They are part of an area where there has been plenty of rain during the last six weeks from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, the Dakotas to Texas.
Rainfall during the last seven days saw a ton of rain in locations that have been getting quite a bit of rain. But, as shown above, rain finally occurred in very dry areas.
The rain the last few days is a nice start, but we need more rain. And more is in the forecast during the next seven days.
This weekend we have a flow from the west-northwest with embedded rain/T-Storm making disturbances. This pattern will bring a round or two of rain and thunderstorms over the weekend, but it will not rain all weekend.
The best chance of rain and T-Storms this weekend is looking like midnight to 1 p.m. Saturday. The heaviest may end up across southeast Kansas and southeast Nebraska/southern Iowa.
Saturday afternoon through Sunday, there may be a few showers and T-Storms. But, most locations and hours will be dry under a partly to mostly cloudy sky.
Highs over the weekend will be in the 70s to low 80s with lows in the 60s.
The rain chances continue next week.
They may actually go up and become a bit more widespread as we track an upper-level low in Nebraska Tuesday-Thursday that will track southeast. The upper low in the southwest USA may have little impact on our area. The upper low in New England is part of the system that brought rain on Thursday.
RAINFALL FORECAST NEXT 7 DAYS:
When you add up all these chances, we are looking at some beneficial amounts. The latest data has rainfall ranging from .50"-1" across northeast Kansas to northwest Missouri to 4"-10" across southern Missouri! That rain will put a huge dent in the southern Missouri drought conditions.
Two things:
1. The rainfall locations shown on this data are still subject to shift north or south by 100 miles.
2. Hopefully, the locations that see over 7" of rain receive it in parts and not all at once. It does look like it may come in parts.
WEEKEND WEATHER SUMMARY:
The best chance of widespread rain looks to be between midnight and 1 p.m. Saturday. So, this is mostly good news for all of the outdoor activities such as the Plaza Art Fair, the last Royals home series of 2025, the KC Current and Sporting KC games, and the Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival.
There are two big college games Saturday. One is in Columbia, Missouri, while the other is in Lawrence, Kansas.
Scattered showers and T-Storms may be around before and during the early part of the Mizzou game, but after kickoff, most showers and T-Storms may be exiting central Missouri.
The weather looks good in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday evening.
Last but not least, this is the last weekend of Summer. Fall begins Monday at 1:19 p.m.
Have a great last weekend of Summer
Stay healthy
