What was the most memorable weather event to impact Kansas City in 2015?
Could it have been the non-stop rain in the spring? It was the fifth wettest April-May on record.
What about the influx in severe weather? There were 20 tornadoes this year in the area. On average we see 12.
You can’t forget about the abnormally high temperatures earlier this month. It was 65 degrees on December 12! (Also hitting in the 60s on Dec. 9,10,11,13, 23).
Believe it or not, the National Weather Service says 2015 wasn’t that a-typical.
According to the NWS in Pleasant Hill, the last year has only been slightly above average in precipitation (7.73” above normal, 18th wettest in history), and although temps have been high, no all-time records were broken.
However, meteorologist Al Pietrycha says what we have been seeing in Kansas City is a trend.
"Look for quite a few swings both in temperature and also with precipitation," said Pietrycha.
And that trend is expected to not only continue, but possibly strengthen heading into 2016.
“Maybe it's just large hail," said 41 Action News meteorologist J.D. Rudd. "Maybe it's big, damaging, severe tornadoes, we'll have to see. But I think we could be in for a more active year than what we've seen the last few."
In a nutshell, when it comes to 2016 weather, expect constant shifts in temperatures and also with severe weather.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com.
