Good Sunday bloggers,
We had a gorgeous start to the day as the sun was shining on cirrus and cirrostratus clouds. We are still tracking a blast of cold that arrives Monday. But, it looks like the colder air will stay north and will retreat faster than we had previously been thinking. We will look at this and also where we stand on precipitation.
TODAY: We will see high clouds this morning then thicker low clouds during the afternoon. Highs will still reach 50°-55°. A storm will be forming in the middle of the country as Arctic air pours into the northern USA.
MONDAY: The storm system will be getting its act together, but the main precipitation will be well to the east and north. We may see some drizzle later today, tonight into Monday. There may even be a small band of light snow with the front, but not enough to cause any road issues. The day will start with temperatures 45°-50° and end up in the 20s by evening with wind chill values in the single digits and teens. Winds will be northwest at 15-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.
TUESDAY: A second front will move through, but it looks much weaker and will merge with the first front and a new storm system tracking across the southern USA. 1"-3" of snow is possible from Dallas to Little Rock to Memphis. You can see we are in the 30s as the true Arctic air is in the northern Plains and upper Midwest.
WEDNESDAY: We are in the 40s with 50s to the west while it is 0° in Minneapolis. It now looks like a warm front will be located just to our north. If it sets up across southern Kansas like we thought yesterday, we will see highs around 30° and experience what Des Moines is now forecast to have. Thursday and Friday will see the warmer air move in regardless if it is here by Wednesday.
Here is a look at the percent average rainfall during the last 30 days. You can see the northern Plains and southwest USA are the most above average. Now, remember, average precipitation is much lower in those locations than areas in the eastern USA. But, still that is quite a bit above average. Our region is in the 25% to 75% of average category. Officially, at KCI, we are 32% of average since October 5th.
The next 7 days will continue to see storm systems miss our region. We have the one with the cold blast, the one to our south Tuesday and Wednesday and there is a third miss possible next weekend. This is the 7 day rainfall/melted snow forecast. We may see a trace to .05" with the most in the eastern USA.
Have a great week.
